Ancient Rome, AD 37A scribe in a noble household, all Cormac has ever known is a life of slavery. When his master suddenly relieves him of his post, along with a hundred other men and women, Cormac is furnished with documents to free him from bondage but given no means to survive. Somewhere between slave and citizen, the freedom to live is the freedom to starve too. All that was once orderly, structured and routine is now chaos, and Cormac must learn life anew. His writing skills have afforded him flickers of opportunity in a world far wealthier than his, but will he resist the pull of the city’s underbelly? Can he untangle himself from its crimes?