At the start of book 2 in the Tales of Rome series, we find 13-year-old Bryn working a baker's shop in Rome but still dreaming of returning to his British homeland. Nero has been emperor for ten years and many fear him. Nero particularly dislikes Christians, who worship their own God instead of the emperor, and has had some arrested and killed. A great fire breaks out in the city, and Bryn and his friends escape to the outskirts, to the home of a rich slave-trader, Septimus. Bryn returns to the city to see the damage and finds a city in ruins. However, he also sees members of Nero's own...

A Captive in Rome is the first book in the enthralling Tales of Rome series of adventures for younger readers. The books are set at the time of the early church and follow the adventures of Bryn, a young Briton of the Iceni tribe. In this first book, Bryn and his brother are taken captive by the Romans after the Boudiccan revolt. They find themselves in Rome where Bryn is sold as a slave to a rich man; Bryn's brother, Conan, is forced into gladiatorial combat. Bryn is befriended by Tiro, a Christian and fellow slave, and they both try to free his brother from the deadly battles before it is...