This novel is set in ancient Rome, during the Late Republic (around 120 BC). The main events in the novel begin after the death of Gaius Sempronius Gracchus, who was assassinated in the Forum along with several thousand of his followers, due to his unpopular agrarian reforms, which threatened the status quo of the rich patricians and knights of the Republic. Set in a tumultuous time, this novel, the first in a series of three novels, explores the culture shock that the staid, conservative Romans experience when they encounter the free-spirited barbarians. Marcus Aemilius Scaurus, a powerful senator in Rome, has formed an alliance with a powerful barbarian chief and over a period of years, has convinced the senate to sign a treaty to further Rome"s long term interests. One of the conditions in the treaty requires the barbarian chief to give his daughter in marriage to a Roman knight, of the Ordo Equester, in order to show his goodwill and also ensure that the treaty terms will be honored. The story begins here, with the chief"s daughter beginning a long journey to Rome, furnished with a proper Roman escort by the senate and accompanied by her new husband, who is a fastidious young man with ambitions of his own. There are also complications as the barbarian princess insists that her new husband permit her barbarian lover to accompany them on their journey to Rome, as her counselor.