In a raging blizzard, guests come to stay for a while with Thanar, the Germanic trader. He tells the story. His friend Marcellus, Legate of the local fortress in Vindabona [today's Vienna], has brought a female druid with her companions. She hopes to use her cure for the plague and if successful, petition Emperor Hadrian to reinstate her religion as legitimate. He has also brought several Christians, one of whom is a fanatic preacher, which Marcellus intends to banish from the area for their own protection because of their illegal "superstition" and ostensibly their horrible practices. There are several murders. It turns out many of the people have been given a hallucinogenic elixir, unbeknownst to them, which affects their senses. The murders are unmasked, but the solutions and motives are complicated. Thanar's female friend, Layla, a Nubian, is the one to unravel everything. The story swept me along and I was hooked to find the answer. ( )