Etruria, 63 BC. Gordianus withdraws to a country farm while Cicero serves as consul and warns that Lucius Sergius Catilina is preparing a revolution. Cicero asks his former investigator to watch Catiline’s movements and report on visitors using the surrounding estates.
A series of mutilated bodies and cryptic messages draws Gordianus into the struggle between Cicero and Catiline. He must decide which claims are evidence and which are political theatre as fear of conspiracy gives the consul exceptional power over citizens accused of treason.