As their armies watch, Marcus, a Roman centurion, and Viridovix, a Celt, begin a duel to the death until a strange spell transports them and a group of Roman legionaires to the mysterious world of Videssos, a land ruled by magic and dark sorcery.

Since the Roman legion had been mysteriously transported to this world of magic, tribune Marcus Scaurus had served the rulers of war-torn Videssos well. He had been largely responsible for ousting the Pretender and putting Thorish Gavras on the throne. That, of course, made him a hero.
Rome or Videssos, however, Fortune was a fickle goddess.
Now he and the legion were returning in triumph to Videssos the city after defeating a well-entrenched army of rebel mercenaries. But Marcus, betrayed by the one closest to him, was returning to be seized, dragged before the Emperor, and questioned...

In Videssos the city, tribune Marcus Scaurus was bored. The legion that had been magically transported to this strange world was far away. But the Emperor's niece Alypia was near -- and willing.
When their secret trysts were betrayed, Emperor Thorisin Gavras was forced to condemn Marcus as a traitor -- but with a promise of freedom and Alypia, if he could reclaim a rebel province from a fanatic usurper, with no military aid. With only centurion Gaius Philippus, Marcus set out to try the seemingly impossible task.
But the fates conspired against them, driving them further westward, into...