1. Blood & Honour
In 27 BCE civil war has ended and Augustus is the first man of Rome, but Marcus Agrippa hears that the senator Lucius Scaurus is preparing a coup. He recruits the poet Rufus Varro and Varro’s bodyguard Manius to investigate. Scaurus’s company of actors and school…
2. Blood & Vengeance
In 26 BCE the slave trader Herennius is robbed and stabbed after a private gathering. Augustus takes an interest in the murder, and Marcus Agrippa assigns Rufus Varro to question the guests. A corrupt advocate, a young poet and other apparently respectable witnesses all have motives,…
3. Blood & Secrets
In 25 BCE Rufus Varro is summoned from his country villa by Marcus Agrippa. Assassins attack him on the road, and the danger continues after he reaches Rome. Agrippa orders him to investigate the mutilated body of Marcus Corvinus, a young aristocrat close to Tiberius and…
4. Blood & Poison
In 26 BCE Marcus Agrippa orders Rufus Varro to entrap Publius Dio, a former drinking companion who has become a powerful smuggler and moneylender. Varro expects to manipulate an old acquaintance, but Dio understands the city’s criminal and financial networks better than the imperial agents pursuing…
5. Gladiator
In 26 BCE Marcus Agrippa asks Rufus Varro to renew contact with his wealthy childhood friend Jovian Martinus. Martinus is building a town and gladiator school outside Rome and has attracted Augustus’s attention. Varro and Manius accept his hospitality while assessing whether the project conceals political…
6. Assassin
In 26 BCE Rufus Varro is ordered to carry a strongbox to Capua and meet Marcus Sura, an assassin working for the same intelligence network. He finds Sura murdered in a brothel, stabbed before the exchange can take place. Varro and Manius investigate the occupants and…