Rome. AD 70. Private eye Marcus Didius Falco knows his way around the eternal city. He can handle the muggers, the police and most of the girls. But one fresh sixteen-year-old, Sosia Camillina, finds him a case no Roman should be getting his nose into. Some friends, Romans and countrymen are doing a highly profitable, if highly illegal, trade in silver ingots or pigs. For Falco it's the start of a murderous trail that leads far beyond the seven hills.