Ancient Rome. 70 B.C. The height of the Republic. A city rippling with power - and with no shortage of men who'd do anything to wield it... When Tiro, the confidential secretary of a Roman senator, opens the door to a terrified stranger on a cold November morning, he sets in motion a chain of events which will eventually propel his master into one of the most famous courtroom dramas in history. The stranger is a Sicilian, a victim of the island's corrupt Roman governor, Verres. The senator is Cicero, a brilliant young lawyer and spellbinding orator, determined to attain imperium - supreme power in the state despite his low birth and implacable opposition from the republic's elites. This case will be his way in. Imperium takes us into the violent, treacherous world of Roman politics, and the quest of one man - clever, compassionate, devious, vulnerable, and above all Roman - to reach the top. A stunning novel of power and ambition from Robert Harris, the number one bestselling author of Fatherland, Pompeii, The Second Sleep and V2