A  stirring adventure novel set amid the tumultuous clashes between the  Roman and Carthaginian empires, battling for control of the  Mediterranean, north Africa and Rome itself.

Atticus, the young  Greek captain, is now a commander of the growing Roman navy, blockading a  port near Tunis, when the Roman legions suffer terrible defeat by the  triumphant Carthaginian army, spearheaded by the elephant charges. He  and his ships escape together with the main body of the Roman fleet out  maneuvered by the more skillful Carthaginians and then caught and almost  completely annihilated by a terrible storm.

Atticus and his crew  are among the handful of survivors and being the messenger of this news  to the Senta in Rome brings Atticus into political troubles, almost as  stormy as the sea. He begins to feel not only that a Greek  will never  be accepted by the Romans but also that the behavior of many, north  politicians and soldiers, is such that he is not sure that he wants to  be a Roman.