May, AD 41. The emperor Claudius has acceded to the throne,and the citizens of Rome look forward to an era of peaceand stability. Not so Marcus Corvinus however, who findshimself embroiled in not one but two investigations. Afriend of his wife has asked him to look into the murderof her brother, found stabbed to death at the Shrine ofMelobosis. A wily businessman and notorious womaniser, noone seems to have a good word to say about Gaius Tullius,not even his less-than-grieving widow. But who would havea good enough reason to want him dead? At the same time,Corvinus's daughter comes across a dead body in the PollioGardens, and urges her father to investigate. At firstMarcus refuses to get involved - but when his enquirieslead him to Ostia, Rome's busy trading port, he uncovers adisturbing connection between the two deaths