A Novel for Men at Arms

From the acclaimed master of historical fiction comes an epic saga about a reluctant hero, the Roman Empire, and the rise of a new faith. In the turbulent aftermath of the crucifixion of Jesus, officers of the Roman Empire acquire intelligence of a pilgrim bearing an incendiary letter from a religious fanatic to insurrectionists in Corinth. The content of this letter could bring down the empire. The Romans hire a former legionary, the solitary man-at-arms, Telamon of Arcadia, to intercept the letter and capture its courier. Telamon operates by a dark code all his own, with no room for noble causes or lofty beliefs. But once he overtakes the courier, something happens that neither he nor the empire could have predicted.

Jerusalem and the Sinai desert, first century AD. The best-selling author of Gates of Fire and Tides of War returns with a gripping saga of conquest and rebellion, bloodshed and faith, in his first novel of the ancient world in thirteen years. Telamon, the solitary man-at-arms, is hired by the Romans to intercept a letter that could bring down the empire. The letter is being carried by a pilgrim, a religious fanatic, to insurrectionists in Corinth. Telamon, a former legionary, operates by his own dark code, with no room for noble causes or lofty beliefs. However, when he finally overtakes the courier, something unexpected occurs that neither he nor the Roman Empire could have foreseen.

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