Egypt. 25 BC. A former surgeon from the city of Ancyra, Titus Cervianus is now a capsarius – a combat medic. He is a pragmatist, a scientist – and deeply unpopular with his legion, the Twenty Second Deiotariana. The Twenty Second have been sent to deal with uprisings and chaos in Egypt. Founded as the private royal army of one of Rome's most devoted allies, the king of Galatia, their ways are not the same as the other legions', a factor that sets them apart and causes friction with their fellow soldiers. Marching into the unknown, Cervianus will find unexpected allies in a local cavalryman and a troublesome lunatic. Both will be of critical importance as the young medic marches through the searing sands of the south, finding forbidden temples, dark assassins, vicious crocodiles, and worst of all, the warrior queen of Kush... 'A page turner from beginning to end... A damn fine read' Ben Kane (on ) 'First-rate Roman fiction' Matthew Harffy (on 'A nuanced portrait of an intriguing emperor' (on