A desolate wasteland. A mission gone wrong. An impossible goal.

Roman scout, Silus, is deep behind enemy lines in Caledonia. As he spies on a raiding party, he is abruptly discovered by an enemy chief and his son. Mounting a one-man ambush, everything quickly goes wrong and Silus must run for his life, the head of the enemy leader in his hands. Little does he know the price he will pay...

As Silus is inducted into the Arcani, an elite faction of assassins and spies, he must return to Caledonia and risk everything in the service of his Caesar. The odds don’t look good. But failure is not an option.

A blood-soaked and unputdownable thriller set in Ancient Rome, anchored in detailed historical research, perfect for fans of Ben Kane, Conn Iggulden and Robert Fabbri.


'Gritty and real, exciting and pacy, this is first-rate historical fiction, and Gough is clearly ready to take his place among the leading writers of the genre,' SJA Turney, author of the "Praetorian" series.


Alex Gough is an author of historical fiction adventures set in Ancient Rome. The Carbo Chronicles, including "Watchmen of Rome" and "Bandits of Rome" are the culmination of a lot of research into the underclasses of the time.