The second novel in this gripping series, set at the end of the Roman Empire, sees a treasonous conspiracy threatening to bring down the Emperor Constantine. Only one man's courage stands between the rebels and victory. Rome is in peril. The old order is changing. Centurion Aurelius Castus has been summoned back from Britain to find himself caught up in a treasonous conspiracy threatening to bring down the Emperor Constantine. Rewarded for saving the emperor's life, Castus is promoted to the elite imperial bodyguard: the swords around the throne. But he soon discovers the court to be as dangerous as the battlefield. Behind the gilded facade of empire lurks a nest of traitors and one relentless enemy.