January of 45 BCE, the civil war
between Caesar and Pompey is going strong, but life in Rome continued. Graecus,
slave to the very influential Dominus, was arriving to pick up the young master
from school when he notices something is wrong. He is told in the strictest
confidence that he may have caused some trouble for his father with some fellow
classmates at school. He overheard
Octavian and Marcus talking about Caesar’s inevitable triumph and bragging
about how his lineage is to be forever superior even amongst the upper class.
The young master becomes so tired of the braggart that he mentions an overheard
conversation of his father’s plan against “Gaius filii”. Dominus, the master,
is told about the incident and is immediately sent into frenzy, cursing his son’s
existence and initiates plans to leave Rome; even the whispers of betrayal are
enough for concern. Unfortunately before Dominus can escape he is brutally
murdered in the courtyard of his villa, Graecus was an unwilling witness. The
family mourns the loss of their pater
familias and begins preparations for his burial when the wife notices
something peculiar. She explains how this couldn’t be her husband because he
has a distinctive scar on his left thigh that is not present on this body. The
mourners tried to explain how the body is so deformed that it could’ve been
removed, but Domina insisted that she
of all people would know the difference. The search begins for Dominus so a
proper trial can be held, not to mention finding the true identity of “the body”.
Graecus now has a problem of his own; because he has admitted to seeing the
murder, he is expected to testify and answer questions about his master’s plans
against the dictator, which he knows nothing of. Follow Graecus’ race against
daylight to find his master and become free so he does not have to testify. But
where does he look and if he can’t find Dominus what will happen to him?
