Book by Sophia McDougall

Rome Burning is the second book of Sophia McDougall's projected trilogy, following her debut novel, Romanitas, set in a world where the Roman Empire has survived to contemporary times. Three years after the events of Romanitas, the Empire is on the brink of war with Nionia (Japan), and plagued by a sequence of mysterious wildfires. Marcus Novius, the young heir to the Roman throne is forced to take charge as Regent when the Emperor Faustus falls suddenly ill. Marcus attempts to recruit Varius as his advisor, but Varius, who is still haunted by the events of the first book (in which he lost his wife and was framed for murder and treason), refuses. While Marcus works to avoid a world war, his lover Una is intent on discovering the truth about his ambitious cousin Drusus' involvement in a conspiracy that almost claimed Marcus' life.

Imagine a world in which Rome never fell. Now the Empire stretches across the Atlantic, slaves are constructing a giant bridge over the Persian Gulf, and magnetic railways span the globe. But tensions within and without are about to change the face of the earth. Marcus Novius is caught in a massive explosion at the Coliseum which kills his uncle the emperor ...making Marcus, his heir, the new leader of the Roman Empire. Marcus, the healer Sulien and Una, his sister - and Marcus' own love - have been together through thick and thin, fighting for freedom, fighting for their lives, fighting for justice, and Marcus' ascension to Roman throne was supposed to be the start of something magnificent ...But Marcus is horribly wounded himself in the explosion, and Sulien is having problems fighting his way through the terrible devastation to be at his friend's - his emperor's - side. And it's not long before Sulien and Una realise life will never be the same again, for the Roman Empire is about to face its most dangerous enemy ...