After an attack at a dinner for Baetican olive-oil producers leaves one man dead and another badly injured, Falco travels to southern Hispania to identify the interests behind the violence.
His investigation moves among estate owners, exporters and officials whose wealth depends on supplying Rome. Helena joins him as pregnancy and family concerns intersect with a conspiracy to control prices and eliminate commercial rivals.
The case reveals how essential Baetican olive oil is to Rome’s economy. Estates, river transport, amphora production and state contracts connect distant Spanish producers with consumers in the capital, making commercial manipulation politically significant. Falco’s investigation treats provincial trade as a source of power and shows how economic crime can threaten the imperial administration as seriously as conventional conspiracy.
Steven Saylor
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Amanda Cockrell
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Anthony Riches
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Christopher Lee Buckner
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Alex Gough
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