Youths Lucius and Allus appeal to the Sybil, Roman oracle and mystic, for a glimpse into their future. But all she offers are ominous words and a small metal charm of an eagle... Over twenty years later and the men are still friends. Allus, now the former governor and a respected soldier must face his toughest battle yet when his wife Claudia is captured by Celtic invaders. Although the couple is reunited, what ignoble shame now threatens to fall upon Allus' family? Lucius, a Patrician politician, lives by strict Roman codes. His social position gives him an advantage over others, which he uses and abuses. All Lucius lacks is an heir, a problem to which Lucius must find a permanent and sinister solution... And meanwhile a peasant boy, Aquilla, is rising through the ranks and it becomes clear that he has a destiny to fulfill. As Aquilla gains in strength, could the old Sybil's words prove more powerful than Allus and Lucius ever imagined?