Deep in a dark, foreboding forest, the Roman Empire will face its bloodiest test.3 BC. Two wild Germanic brothers, Armin and Wulf, are held hostage in Rome to keep their father from rebelling against the Empire. As the years pass, they are moulded into ideal soldiers: brave, disciplined, ruthless. Attributes that are to be tested when a conspiracy arises, threatening their emperor and the Empire’s future . . .As serving Roman soldiers, the brothers are separated at opposite ends of the Empire, each proving their bloody might on the battlefield. But Armin begins to realize that no matter how far he travels and how many lives he takes, he has an inescapable bond to his father, mother and the tribes of Germania. His goal: to unite them all under one banner.Wulf, though, remains loyal to Rome and it soon becomes clear that both he and the might of the Roman Empire are the only obstacles standing between Armin and his dream of freedom for the Germanic people . . .Praise for Valerio Massimo Manfredi‘Where Manfredi excels . . . is in his mastery of detail’ Sunday Express‘Stand aside Gladiator, the real classics are coming’ Independent