Centurion Aurelius Castus has been summoned back from Britain, to find himself caught in a conspiracy threatening to bring down the Emperor Constantine. Rewarded for saving the emperor's life in battle, Castus is promoted to Corps of Protectores, the elite imperial bodyguard--the swords around the throne. But he soon discovers the court is as dangerous as the battlefield; behind the gilded facade of empire, there are plots, betrayals and seductions, a nest of traitors, and one relentless enemy.
