Marcus, like his father before him, is an officer in the Roman army stationed on the barbaric island of Britain. Many years ago, Marcus' father and his Legion marched north of Hadrian's Wall and never returned. Rumors are now coming south of the Wall: the Eagle, the standard and symbol of the Ninth Legion has been seen in one of the temples of the barbaric tribes of the north. With such a symbol, the tribe could rally others and mount an attack on the lightly defended Wall. Marcus knows that this cannot be allowed to happen, so he volunteers to go north of the Wall and retrieve the Eagle. With his freedman friend Esca, a Briton, Marcus searches throughout Caledonia to find the Eagle and to find out the fate of his father.

This is an excellent story. The Roman Britain setting is well drawn and the characters that inhabit it are all realistic. Marcus was an interesting narrator and while the ending of the story was a bit predictable, I found his quest to be compelling. If you're looking for historical fiction that will bring the ancient world to life, this is a good story to try.