This collection of short stories are set in the years between 90 BC and 72 BC, and tell the tales of how Gordianus first met his slave, and later wife, Bethesda; how he met his loyal manservant Belbo; of his friendship with his generous patron Lucius Claudius, as well as other tales. He also runs into important historical figures, such as Publius Clodius Pulcher and a young Caesar.
September 80 BC: Gordianus and his adopted son, Eco, visit the theater and are drawn into a murder investigation.
N.B. This story takes place shortly after the events of Roman Blood, when Gordianus has adopted his young son, Eco, who is still mute.
Summer 80 BC: While they are relaxing at home, Bethesda tells Gordianus the classic Egyptian folk tale of King Rhampsinitus and his treasure vault.
May 78 BC: Gordianus meets his future patron, Lucius Claudius, who needs help with a mystery.
October 78 BC: An old soldier is haunted by visions of his victims during Sulla's civil wars, and a relative of the late dictator is found dead.
Spring and summer, 77 BC: Gordianus is hired to deliver a ransom to pirates who have kidnapped a nobleman's young stepson, in a case which bears a suspicious similarity to the young Julius Caesar's kidnapping. Along the way, Gordianus acquires his slave and loyal bodyguard, Belbo.
December 77 BC: Gordianus must help his patron Lucius Claudius recover his lost set of silver items made for the Saturnalia celebrations.
April 76 BC: Invited for a pleasant holiday at Lucius Claudius's country estate, Gordianus and his family are interrupted by the sudden death of another guest, whose wife suspects poisoning as the cause of death.
90 BC: While living in Alexandria at the age of twenty, Gordianus must investigate the murder of a domestic cat, sacred to the Egyptians, before it triggers a riot. The story is related by Gordianus to Lucius Claudius in the summer of 74 BC.
N.B. The novel The Seven Wonders, which was published later, acts as a prequel to this story.
Spring 73 BC: In the titular story of the collection, Gordianus is called to the Temple of Vesta in the middle of the night, to see if there is any truth to the accusation that Lucius Sergius Catalina has had an affair with a Vestal Virgin.
