

This is the story of a Roman Legion – the famed Twelfth Fulminata. Proconsul Iulius Caesar has been authorized by the Senate to raise a new legion for the conquest of Gaul, to be numbered the Twelfth. He fills the cohorts with raw recruits and transfers tried and proven officers from his veteran legions to lead them into war. Each chapter describes a pivotal battle of Caesar’s conquests as seen through the eyes of the commander of the legion, the Primus Pilus Centurion. March with the Lightning Legion through the campaigns in Gaul, Belgica, Germania and Britannia. Follow Caesar as he relentlessly pursues his archenemy, Pompey the Great, down the Italian peninsula, across the Adriatic and on to the climactic Battle of Pharsalus.
Caesar has seized control of all Italia, but Pompey the Great still has many allies elsewhere. Pompey’s main force has taken refuge in Dyrrachium, where he will soon be joined by the legions of Syria and unlimited auxiliaries from the kingdoms of the east. Pompey can also rely on loyal legions stationed in Africa and Hispania. The Pompeian legions in Hispania pose the most immediate threat to Caesar. They must be dealt with first. Two cohorts of the Twelfth Fulminata are detached to confront the enemy on his own ground. Centurions-Major Milotorus and Eurasto lead their legionaries across the sea and into battle on distant shores.

Caesar has emerged victorious from the hard-fought battle of Pharsalus, but now he must eliminate the last bastions of opposition in Africa and Hispania. His first task is to control the middle ground of Aegypt with its vast resources of grain and gold. He meets unexpected resistance in Alexandria, but prevails with the help of Queen Cleopatra. Upon the cessation of hostilities, Caesar enters Roma in triumph. Then, at the peak of power and prestige, he is cut down by vile assassins in the chambers of the Senate. This action ignites another cycle of civil unrest and war lasting many years. The final struggle between Marcus Antonius and Octavian engulfs the entire empire. Primus Pilus Centurion Muricius Stura of the Twelfth Fulminata experiences all the vicissitudes of war from the exhilarating victory over Pompeius Magnus to utter defeat at Actium.

The story of Miriam, an unknown Saint
Miriam, a Christian slave in the kitchens of a wealthy Roman nobleman, meets a crippled stable slave and transforms his life. They are married in the church of Viminacium and form a Christian family as they struggle to gain their freedom. The lives of Miriam and Lazarus, and their two daughters Susannah and Joanna, are plunged into turmoil when the noble Aemilianus is summoned to Nicomedia to serve as Consul under the Emperor Diocletian. The Augustus Diocletian, convinced of his own divinity and demanding to be venerated by his subjects, is determined to rid the empire of all Christians and their treasonous beliefs. Purges and proscriptions are initiated in every province and city. Many of the faithful are tortured and executed without mercy. It is a dark time for the nascent Christian Church. A time of danger and sacrifice. A time of martyrs and saints.

Ships with purple sails have arrived in the harbor of Nicomedia, bringing strife and turmoil to two Roman maidens. Clarissa's father is falsely accused of accepting bribes, forcing Clarissa and her mother into exile. When Barbara refuses to marry the arrogant tribune Lucius Caetullus, her own life is placed in danger.