Jennifer Burke

Baiae, 59 AD. Aemilius Valerius promised Junius Atreus a holiday, and what better place to take one than the glittering resort town of Baiae, as famous for its hot springs and ocean views as it is for its drunken debauchery and moral decay? Not that Valerius and Atreus have time to enjoy any of...

Rome, 58 AD. Aemilius Valerius is on the up and up. His reputation has been rehabilitated, he has established a fledgling career, and he has new friends in very powerful places. When one of those new friends, the poet Lucan, is attacked, Valerius is given an offer he can’t refuse.

Rome, 58 AD. The dinner party didn’t turn out the way Aemilius Valerius expected. He didn’t expect a place at the main table. He didn’t expect to drink that much. He didn’t expect to hook up with one of the scarier dancers. And he most certainly didn’t expect to trip over the bloody...