is set in Rome, 80 B.C. It is a warm spring morning when Gordianus starts his investigation on a crime. He lives in a large house, a little run down over the years since being passed down to him from his father. Himself, along with his one slave, Bethesda, an Egyptian woman usually sits in his big garden. The streets of Rome are where most of the detective work takes place. Like many others, the street where the crime took place is small and unattended. Gordianus' work takes him to a small town called Ameria about 45 miles from Roam for ....