Marcus, who is the main character in the book The Young Roman Soldier, begins his saga remembering the many times that he and his father spent in his father's sitting room having "man-to-man" talks. One of his father's usual gruesome tales was about the time that he and his band of evil Roman soldiers had gone out into the countryside and had slaughtered hundreds of innocent Jewish male children-all which were under two years old. The purpose of the massacre was to kill the "dreaded" Christ Child, who was prophesied in the Jewish scriptures to be their future King and Messiah. Both Caesar and King Herod had given the cruel soldier all the glory and honor for having done the job well. The young man also elaborates on the many tragedies that he as a child had endured, from his baby sister's having been taken out into the wilderness and left to die, to the unexpected deaths of both of his parents. He then speaks about his life as a Roman soldier and how that he finally discovered the truth about the death of the Christ Child. When he knelt at the bottom of the cross of Jesus, he realized, as he touched His bloodstained feet, that he, Marcus, was touching the feet of the real Christ Man-the Son of God. From that day, his life was changed forever, and he experienced real unconditional love for the first time.