It is 80 BC, the age of Sulla's civil wars. The internal power struggles leave their mark on the everyday atmosphere of Rome: the web of public safety is torn, danger lurks around every corner. The situation is only compounded when, on a hot day, the brutally murdered body of the rich landowner Sextus Roscius is found in the square in front of a brothel.

The victim's son is suspected of the murder, and there is only one punishment for the horrible crime: death. The boy who bears the accusation with his head bowed before the law is defended by the popular statesman of the time, Marcus Tullius Cicero. His mission is practically hopeless, which is why he turns to Gordianus, who enjoys an impeccable reputation in Rome, who searches for evidence in the city's poor neighborhoods and luxurious palaces in order to support Cicero's truth and save a man who, according to the politician, was innocently accused.

Steven Saylor, the American bestselling author of historical novels, launched his favorite ancient detective's twisted story in 1991, which has since then spanned a dozen and a half volumes.