When, in the autumn of his years, Publius Ventidius is chosen to lead the invasion of Parthia, he is confronted by more than mere world war against Rome's greatest enemy. A former lieutenant for Julius Caesar and second tier general for a corrupt and dying republic, Ventidius also finds himself on a personal odyssey on which he must weigh his own loyalties against his ambitions, and prosecute a war against a noble people when he can find little nobility left in his own. Though well equal to the task of defeating Persian knights and archers, he must also navigate the treacheries of such beloved yet often contemptible historical figures as Marcus Antonius, Augustus Caesar, Marcus Agrippa, Herod, and Cleopatra. In his quest to become Parthicus, Ventidius learns that great nations often betray their heroes. From the author of THE GHOSTS OF ROME.