Publisher's Synopsis
A dramatic story of intrigue, romance and revenge, from the author of The Quiet Earth and The Twilight Child, set in present day Provence and Roman Britain, France and Italy in the year AD175.
The present day: Beth Leighton arrives in the ancient Roman town of Arles, accompanying her brother Joe who is researching the early Christian martyr St Theodore, an obscure child saint who was killed by a Roman officer for refusing to make a sacrifice to the state gods of Rome.
Arles, AD175: Sergius Cornelius Aurelius, the officer accused - an ex-legionary who lived and fought at Hadrian's Wall. He has a story to tell, and his soul cannot rest until the truth is known about a moonlit night at the temple of Mithras that ended in violent bloodshed.
Moved by the story and by her historical surroundings, Beth feels a tangible, mysterious presence. Then she meets Adam, a film researcher, who also feels inexplicably pulled by the past. As they explore the beautiful Provence countryside together, where the pagan Romans clashed with the Christians and martyrs were thrown to the lions, their interest intensifies to obsession and the ancient world, both magnificent and barbaric, becomes frighteningly real…
