After centuries of being on the defensive, the Roman Empire is on the march once again... Constantinople, 537 AD: after the successful reconquest of North Africa, the Emperor Justinian starts to entertain grand dreams of restoring the shattered Western Empire. He despatches his golden general, Flavius Belisarius, with an army of twelve thousand men to drive the Goths from Italy and recover Rome, the Eternal City and ancient capital of the Roman world. For Coel ap Amhar, King Arthur's grandson, the Italian campaign is an opportunity to escape his growing number of enemies in Constantinople. But the early successes of Belisarius quickly fade, as Rome is surrounded by an overwhelming horde of Goths, commanded by their dread king, Vitiges. Stalked by assassins, thrown into one desperate battle after another, Coel's life and liberty are at stake as Belisarius makes his final stand in the siege of Rome...