Nobody was poisoned at the dinner for the Society of Oliver Oil Producers of Baetica, though in retrospect this was quite a surprise... Inimitable sleuth Marcus Didius Falco is back with a vengeance. On one night, a man is killed and Rome's Chief of Spies left for dead. This leaves no one except Falco to conduct the investigation.

The spirit of adventure calls Marcus Didius Falco on a new spying mission for the Emperor Vespasian to the untamed East. He's picking up extra fees from his old friend Thalia the snake dancer as he searches for Sophrona, her lost water organist. With the Chief Spy Anacrites paying his fare, Falco knows anything can go wrong.

Marcus Didius Falco and his laddish friend Petronius find their local fountain has been blocked- by a gruesomely severed human hand. Soon other body parts are being found in the aqueducts and sewers. Public panic overcomes official indifference, and the Aventine partners are commissioned to investigate.

Rome's leaders are frightened: the brilliant, ruthless Gaius Julius Caesar must be crushed before he can overthrow the government and become dictator. This novel opens in Gaul, scene of Caesar's magnificent victory over fierce people. His conquest is in the name of Rome.

In Rome, Ad 70 - One hot day in the Forum, Marcus Didius Falco, private informer, runs into sweet sixteen-year-old Sosia Camillina. She is fleeing for her life. Rescuing her is the start of a dangerous game, involving stolen imperial ingots and a dark political plot.

Marius, the general who saved Rome from barbarian invasion and became consul an unprecedented six times, has fallen into decline. Sulla, his closest associate, has withdrawn himself from his commander's circle in preparation for his own bid for power. As a deadly enmity develops between the two men, Rome must fight its own battle for survival.