Betrayed, banished but not broken... 70 AD: Disgraced, dishonoured and banished on pain of execution if he ever returns to Rome, Gaius Valerius Verrens makes his way East through the death and destruction of the savage Judaean rebellion. He knows his only hope of long term survival lies with his friend Titus, commander of the Army of Judaea and son of the newly crowned Emperor Vespasian. But when he reaches the Roman camps that surround the seemingly impregnable city of Jerusalem he finds Titus a changed man. Gone is the cheerful young officer he knew; in his place, a tough, ruthless soldier under pressure from his father to end the insurrection at any cost. Soon, Valerius finds himself at the centre of a web of intrigue spun by Titus' lover, Queen Berenice of Cilicia, and her sometime ally, the general's turncoat adviser, Flavius Josephus, who together have an ulterior motive for wanting the siege to end quickly. Yet the laurels Valerius needs in order to regain his honour cannot be won in the tunnels that run beneath Jerusalem. Only in the heat and blood of battle can he find the glory that brought him the title Hero of Rome.