John, the last disciple, is bent on warning Christians that Nero intends to kill them all. John can’t say this openly, so he uses a code “666” to identify the “beast.” Nero’s henchmen want the code stopped and John killed before Nero gets wind of it. Vitas befriends a Christian slave woman and marries her. His enemies inform Nero, who plots humiliating Vitas by ravishing his wife in front of Vitas at one of Nero’s banquets. Incensed, Vitas attacks Nero. Nero condemns Vitas to death in the arena and Vitas’ wife by opening her veins.

History records many influential Romans plotting to overthrow Nero. The authors work this into the novel by having powerful Romans save Vitas from the arena and placing him, along with John, on a ship headed for Alexandria. Their hope is that Vitas can be persuaded into leading a coup against Nero. There’s much history in this novel mixed with adventuresome fiction that make the history come alive. Nero really was almost deposed by Piso a few years prior to the historical setting of this novel. This exciting mixture of fact and fiction will keep you engrossed throughout the entire novel and eagerly awaiting its sequel.