When Clovis moves to conquer Gaul in 486 A.D., only Syagrius, King of the Romans, has the courage to stand in his way; but he pays a fearful price for his defiance. Shattered by a defeat that cost him his wife, his son, his city and his army, Syagrius wanders through the collapsing world of a dying empire. He finds refuge with a procurator broken by his past, a centurion haunted by betrayal, and a priestess desperate for love—all too proud and too honorable to compromise with the corruption that threatens to destroy them.