In 43 AD, the Roman army invades Britannia, determined to crush the Celtic tribes and take their land.
After her father, king of the Durotriges, is killed in battle, Sorcha longs for revenge, yet she is ordered to lead the clan’s women and children to safety as the legions march on their hillfort.
On the way she captures Lucius Gallus Antonius, a cavalry officer who must prove himself to Vespasian of the Second Legion if his family is to enter Rome’s senatorial class, and she is persuaded to spare him as a hostage.
Captivity threatens both his life and his hope of returning in glory, and he intends to escape, even as fresh dangers force him and Sorcha to defend the displaced Durotriges in their refuge.
Drawn to the enemy she should hate, and to the woman sent against Rome, they face a forbidden pull that duty may not allow them to survive.
