This heavily illustrated volume, like the exhibition it accompanies, documents the lavish lifestyle of ancient Rome's wealthiest citizens along the Bay of Naples until AD 79, when the eruption of Mount Vesuvius buried many surrounding towns and villas.

The book presents a collection of essays by an international group of scholars who highlight and interpret the archaeological discoveries of both the Italian excavations at Villa A and Oplontis ("Villa") B from 1964 to 1991 and the ongoing Oplontis Project, a collaboration between the Archaeological Superintendency of Pompeii and the University of Texas at Austin since 2006.

Many of the authors are members of the Oplontis Project team. The volume also contains a full catalogue of the objects in the exhibition.

452 illustrations.