It is AUC 815 (62AD). Numerius Meridius Pulcher, former Capri Boy and brothel keeper, currently at loose ends in Rome gets a midnight call to the House of the Vestals. There an old friend and keeper of shared secrets asks for help in finding a newborn. The only catch is that the mother of the newborn is dead...and a Vestal. Reconstructing the crime will lead Numerius scurrying in and around Rome both grand and glorious and cheap and tawdry, running into old friends and enemies and those unable to be placed firmly in either camp. Numerius Meridius Pulcher and the Case of the Not So Virgin Vestal is the first of a series on Numerius Meridius Pulcher set in the Ancient Roman Empire.

Numerius Meridius Pulcher, ex-slave and brothel owner is at it again in Ancient Rome. This time, as he tries to set up his new house with the help he needs, he runs headlong into murder. He and his longtime companion, friend and slave, Aristo, and the rest of the Pulcher crew are determined to find out what is going on at the house of Seleucus, his favorite slave dealer, and what secrets these new additions to his household are trying to keep. Amid the backdrop of a hot sultry ancient Rome summer, the characters pursue love, laughter and the solving of one more mystery.

It is A.U.C. 815 (62 AD). Numerius Meridius Pulcher has fled to his Pompeii house to recover from the happenings in Rome and to visit his long-time friend Julia Felix. It is supposed to be a relaxed retreat from the world, but it turns out to be murder. In the process of working the case, he will crisscross Pompeii, the houses of the wealthy, the public baths, the temples, wine shops, markets and the hangouts of the unsavory