It is 128AD. Emperor Hadrian announces a major festival to celebrate his first ten years as Roman emperor. The main attraction is a chariot race spanning the entire empire from Rome to Germania.
Famous charioteers from across the vast Roman empire including Greece, Egypt, Judea, Carthage, Hispania, Gaul, Macedonia and Britannia have assembled in the Eternal City. Spectators in their thousands are streaming into the Eternal City for the inaugural race in the Circus Maximus.
The air is tense with excitement and anticipation.
The night before the first race, one of the charioteers from Judea is found murdered in his quarters. The charioteer had been tortured and crucified to the room’s window. An unknown woman’s body is also found on the floor. The woman’s body had also been laid out on the floor in a mock crucifixion with outstretched arms.
The head of the emperor’s Praetorian guard, Quintus Octavian, suspects Rome’s newest religious sect, the Christians of masterminding the murder. Barely a century ago, their leader had also been crucified in Judea. This might be an act of revenge.
Emperor Hadrian is deeply troubled by the murders. He fears a bloodbath in Rome and in restive Judea. It had only been a few decades since the Roman legions destroyed Jerusalem, the Judean capital and crushed the Hebrew rebellion. The emperor fears another uprising in Judea which could spread to the other conquered Roman colonies like Carthage and Gaul.
The emperor asks Quintus Octavian to take the position of the murdered charioteer and represent Judea in the upcoming chariot race.
As Quintus continues his investigation, he is drawn inexorably into the murky world of Roman politics with its powerful noble families who are always vying for power and wealth. It soon becomes obvious to him that the murders are much more than a simple Christian conspiracy.
Quintus has to solve two problems at the same time. He has to keep winning each race to stay in the Championship. He also has to solve the twin murders without himself becoming the next victim……..
