It is 61 A.D. The Roman occupation of Britain has reduced its native tribes to client kingdoms, subservient to Roman administrators backed by four Roman legions. But for the Emperor Nero, dominance is not enough: He wants money, and his tax collectors are only too happy to obtain it for him by force. Among Nero's targets are the Iceni, a peaceful and prosperous tribe led by their Queen, Boadicea. When Roman soldiers raid her village in search of plunder, she is bound and beaten, her young daughters raped, and her people captured to be sold as slaves. She vows revenge, and under her leadership the British tribes rise up against their Roman oppressors. Boadicea has often been described as a "warrior queen" leading the British tribes in a ruthless and relentless attempt to kill every Roman in their path. But she is much more than a warrior: She is a mother outraged by the Romans' cruel treatment of her daughters, a lover of peace transformed into an avenging fury, a woman torn between loyalty to her cause and her secret love for Suetonius Paulinus, the leader of the forces arrayed against her. What will happen when she and Suetonius finally face each other on the battlefield?