In 100 AD, good government under Trajan Caesar promises well for the Roman settlers in the frontier province of Britannia. Aurelia Marcella's inn on the road to York is busy. But one day two unusual events occur: a soldier is murdered in his bed at the inn, and a letter arrives from Isurium, a small fort north of the city. Her cousin, Jovina, invites Aurelia to a midsummer birthday party. But the missive ends with plea for help, referring to "danger in the wind." The murdered soldier also bore a message indicating violence would erupt at the very same fort on the day of the party.

Arriving at Isurium, Aurelia finds Jovina and her family caught in a tangled web of greed, love, intrigue, and death. When violence engulfs the district, Aurelia is thrust into peril from enemies engaged in an anti-Roman plot and from family members bent on agendas of their own....