Set between the events of his novels Roman Blood and Catilina's Riddle, these previously untold adventures range from a twisted search for truth behind a threatening blind item in the Daily Acts ("The Consul's Wife") and a kidnapping and murder during the revolt of Sertorius ("The White Fawn") to the story behind Cicero's discovery of Archmedes's tomb ("Archimedes's Tomb") and a perplexing domestic situation in Gordianus's own home ("If a Cyclops Could Vanish in a Glimpse of an Eye").

These tales from the early career of Gordianus - when his adopted son, Eco, was still a mute boy and his wife, Bethesda, was but his slave - will delight Steven Saylor's many fans while illuminating the details of the ancient world.

Contents:

• The Consul's Wife
• If a Cyclops Could Vanish in the Blink of an Eye
• The White Fawn
• Something Fishy in Pompeii
• Archimedes's Tomb
• Death by Eros
• A Gladiator Dies Only Once
• Poppy and the Poisoned Cake
• The Cherries of Lucullus
• The Life and Times of Gordianus the Finder: a Partial Chronology