"Following his international bestsellers Roma and Empire, Steven Saylor continues his saga of the greatest, most storied empire in history from the eternal city at the very center of it all. A.D. 165: The empire of Rome has reached its pinnacle. Universal peace-the Pax Roma-reigns from Britannia to Egypt, from Gaul to Greece. Marcus Aurelius, as much a philosopher as he is an emperor, oversees a golden age in the city of Rome. The ancient Pinarius...

Continuing the epic story begun in his "New York Times"-bestselling novel "Roma," Saylor charts the destinies of five more generations of the aristocratic Pinarius family, from the reign of Augustus to the height of Rome's empire.