Rome, 61 BC. Young Marcus Cornelius Primus lives an easy life as a farm boy on the island of Leucas. His father, the former Centurion Titus Cornelius Pollenius, is the head of the pleasant farm. But Marcus's life is shattered when his father is unable to pay the amount of money borrowed from a moneylender famed for his cruel and twisted deeds. His father is murdered and his mother is kidnapped and now lies in the rotten clutches of slavery. He must now find his father's former commander: General Pompeius the Great. This will ensure that his mother will be freed and they will obtain justice against the treacherous moneylender. Marcus does not know how he will live with the thought of his mother being brutally overworked and whipped to a feeble state of mind.

Marcus is determined not to let go of the thought of revenge. His progress is hurt as he is forced into a gladiator school. He must face the trials and horror that the Gods have put in front of him in the form of the training course of the school. Will he live to see another day or will he die by the point of a blade?

Simon Scarrow is a bestselling author who faces the challenge of the gladiators by fighting the negativity that tries to force its way into the arena of the book. 'An action packed book that freezes the blood of the warm-blooded and boils the blood of the cold-blooded,' rates master Krazy Kesh. After all, he does love history!

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