"The Wages of Sedition is the 10th in the series of highly acclaimed and best-selling Judge Marcus Flavius Severus mysteries in Ancient Rome. This story takes place in the year 175 CE during the reign of Marcus Aurelius. It is two years after the events in The Dagger of Nemesis. According to the ancient sources, primarily the Augustan Histories and Dio Cassius, the year 175 was the year that the Roman General of the eastern legions, Avidius Cassius, declared himself Emperor, falsely alleging that the true Emperor Marcus Aurelius was dead. The revolt caused panic in the city of Rome because Marcus Aurelius was on the Danube fighting Germans and there was fear that Avidius Cassius would attack Rome while the Emperor was away in the north. When news of the revolts reached Rome, Marcus Flavius Severus was in the city investigating the collapse of a Roman apartment house. He was then appointed Special Judge by the Urban Prefect and tasked with finding and arresting the hidden seditionists in Rome, including the mysterious rebel heading the revolt in the city. For Severus, the future of the Empire was at stake. Who should rule, a philosopher-king like Marcus Aurelius or a rigid military dictator like Avidius Cassius? This book takes place during the historic revolt to overthrow Emperor Marcus Aurelius. It is not only a mystery, but also captures the daily life of ancient Rome and is a sojourn into the world of courts, police, and criminal law of the period. All laws, rescripts and legal procedures are from Roman law sources"--Back cover.