This is the first novel of a trilogy charting Constantine the Great’s rise to power as the first Christian Emperor of Rome. It is seen through the eyes of Titus, an officer in his bodyguard and the military tutor of his young son, Crispus. When Titus meets Flavia, one of Constantine’s female agents, on a secret mission to find an unguarded pass through the Alps, he falls in love. His struggle to win her as his wife is more difficult than any military campaign. When Constantine marries Fausta Titus has to protect the young Crispus from his scheming step-mother and ensure that he retains his position as his father’s heir. Heavily outnumbered, Constantine wins a series of battles against his rival for the throne of the Western Empire and enters Rome in triumph with Crispus by his side. He gives his young son command of the fleet at Ravenna but when he, Titus and Flavia arrive there, they find it has been seized by men supporting Licinius, Emperor of the East. Together they face their greatest challenge - to wrest control of the fleet back from the rebels.