A distinguished senator has gone into hiding after being accused of treachery, leaving his family to fend for themselves. His elder son Quintus has become a gladiator, while young Lucius works as a servant in the gladiator school. When the gladiator troupe is sent to Pompeii to take part in the games, Lucius is befriended by Valens, the sponsor of thw games, who offers to help him find his father. Meanwhile, strange rumblings and tremors are felt in the town, and a steer is warning that the 'end of days' is approaching. Can Quin survive his fights with the seasoned gladiators of Pompeii? And is Valens all he seems?
