The fifth novel in Simon Scarrows bestselling Roman series. It is late summer 44 AD & the battle-weary Roman legions are in their second year of campaigning against the British tribes. The troops commander General Plautius is under considerable pressure from the emperor to crush the natives once & for all. Centurions Macro & Cato are with the crack Second Legion under the precarious leadership of Centurion Maximus & its their task to hold a ford across the river Tamesis when the natives are forced into a trap. But Maximuss nerve breaks at the critical point allowing the enemy leader Caratacus & his men to escape. Outraged by this failure General Plautius orders the decimation of the unit. Their choice: die or escape to become a fugitive pursued by soldiers of their own ruthless army. Hiding from their former comrades as well as the Britons Catos small band of fugitives have only one chance to redeem themselves before they are hunted down like animals...