The Serpent and the Slave

AD367: Britannia. The Southern Provinces are shaken by the most ferocious barbarian invasion in living memory. Marius, youngest member of the Corinium council, is caught in a web of intrigue when it transpires that the traitor masterminding the barbarian alliance is his parents' murderer, the feared and hated Imperial Notary, Paulus Catena - The Chain... Narrowly escaping death in a bloody skirmish with an Irish war band, Marius is forced to undertake a hazardous journey to the mysterious Isle of Mona in a desperate gamble to destroy the alliance. He is accompanied by the fugitive slave and gladiator, Fraomar of the Alamanni, a man the emperor wants captured at any price. Hunted not only by the savage Irish invaders but also by a team of elite imperial troops, Marius soon discovers that there are much higher stakes to play for than their own lives. . . This is part one of The Chronicles of Britannia, a tale of heroism, loss, war and sacrifice as Rome's westernmost provinces are swept inexorably to the very brink of the Dark Ages. . .