This is the story of Marcus, a young Roman legionnaire and of his friend Septimus, who, in 212 AD, fall prey to corruption and are sentenced to the galleys. What follows is their escape and flight (a virtual travelogue of the ancient world), trying to find a safe haven on the edges of the Empire. In far off Panonnia, the two friends find life and love among horse nomads drifting in from the east, and experience many trials on the volatile borderland threatened by barbarian incursions.