The year is 9 AD, and Publius Quinctilius Varus has just been appointed by Emperor Caesar Augustus to oversee the subjugation of the Germanic people and annexation of the German lands. Varus, a lawyer and former governor of Syria, has frighteningly little experience as a military leader. He is resolved to prove himself as one, nevertheless. He believes the Germanic people to be conquered. He is wrong.
His ranks are filled with seasoned veterans and novices alike, the latter of which includes Lucius, a young man whose conscription into the Roman imperial legions represents only the first step in his epic, and terrifying, destiny.
Valerius Maximus, a young Roman tribune, enters the legions of the Rhine as well—only to find that the danger he anticipated from abroad actually lies within his own ranks. The vicious politics of the officer corps prove to be more treacherous.
Meanwhile, German nobleman Arminius lies in wait, preparing for the inevitable appearance of the Roman legions and growing in his determination to liberate his people from Rome’s rule at any cost.
The fates of these men soon converge in a bloody battle that will decide the course of their countries…and their lives. The Germanic foes spring a monstrous ambush in a driving rain storm. The future of Western civilization turns in the blink of an eye.