Gelvum’s dignitaries are in a spin. The wealthy Voluus, ex-lictor to the Imperial Governor of Gaul, has decided to retire to the town and invitations have been issued for a welcome feast. How to respond and, more importantly, where do his riches come from? In an effort to find out, Libertus’ patron, local magistrate Marcus Septimus Aurelius, asks him to make enquiries.

At Voluus’s new apartment, Libertus is informed that one of the ex-lictor’s treasure carts has been intercepted, the guards and horses brutally butchered. Events take an even bleaker turn when Libertus’ actions are misinterpreted by a network of spies, leading him to be suspected of involvement in the massacre and marched to the garrison to await trial. But after daringly escaping, Libertus embarks on a dangerous quest to discover the truth . . .