"Rome 27BC. The civil war is over. Augustus Caesar is the First Man of Rome. But Marcus Agrippa has heard rumours of a coup, centred around the senator Lucius Scaurus. He enlists the help of the poet Rufus Varro and his bodyguard Manius to help investigate. The senator has recruited a company of actors and school of gladiators to further his ambitions. But what is his ultimate plan? Varro must get to the heart of the conspiracy, or die trying."