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A stunning new debut thriller of power, treachery and revenge

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´Outstanding. An extraordinary recreation of ancient Rome. Miss this at your peril´ Ben Kane

More gripping than Game of Thrones and more ruthless than House of Cards - this a stunning new thriller of power, treachery and revenge

In a darkened cell, a brutally deposed dictator lies crippled - deprived of his power, his freedom - and his eyes.

On the edge of utter despair, his only companion is the young boy who brings him his meagre rations, a mere child who fears his own shadow. But to one who has held and lost the highest power, one thing alone is crystal clear: even emperors were mere children once.

Ten years later, the new ruler´s son watches uneasily over his father´s empire. Wherever he looks rebellion is festering, and those closest to him have turned traitor once before.

To this city in crisis comes a hugely wealthy senator from the very edge of the empire, a young and angry ward at his heels. He is witty but inscrutable, generous with his time and money to a leader in desperate need of a friend - and he wears a bandage over his blinded eyes.

The fallen emperor´s name is Nero.

But this isn´t his story.

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David Barbaree is a lawyer and a graduate of the Curtis Brown Creative Writing School. He lives in Toronto with his wife and daughter.

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