"The stupid smirk died instantly on his lips, and all the colour drained from his face; his jaw dropped and his eyes grew wide with terror, as if seeing a ghost -- which, in a real sense, he was" It's 153 A.D., and with the often-brutal Conquest now a distant memory, the Roman province of Britannia is peaceful and prosperous. Faustina, a young artist from the town of Mancunium, with a talent for mosaics even more impressive than her flowing blonde hair, travels to another city to execute her latest commission for a wealthy gentleman client -- only to fall victim on the way to a savage...