Spanning events that include the eruption of Vesuvius and the burying of Pompeii, the opening of the Colosseum, the beginnning of the Jewish Diaspora, the destruction of Jerusalem, Masada, the Great Fire, and the first appearance of Christians at Rome, this novel follows the true story of a girl and a boy in the first century. Domitia is the daughter of Rome''s most famous general. She becomes one of the most influential empresses in Rome''s history. Her consort is the son of a country mule-trader who founds the second dynasty at Rome. Together the couple give the Empire a period of rule unmatched in justice and good order, despite the treachery and horrors that surround them