The death toll was rising...and not all the symptoms tallied with the plague...

A deadly contagion may have sent many of Rome's wealthier citizens fleeing to the country, but for Claudia Seferius a plague is the least of her worries.

For she has "temporarily borrowed" 3,000 sesterces from local millionaire Sabbio Tullus. OK, so she'd had to break into his depository to get at it, but did he really need to set the army after her? Desperate to escape arrest, she seeks refuge in the beautiful spa resort of Atlantis.

Once there she meets the charming Cal, and a little flirting in tranquil surroundings seems an ideal way to pass the time. Except, within hours, Cal is dead. And he's not the only one.

Pretty soon Claudia begins to wonder whether Atlantis isn't far more dangerous than the disease-ridden streets she left behind...