Rome, the capital of the world in A. D. 62, was the site of privilege and poverty, of suptuousness and slavery. Yet Sara, a plain young Jewish slave with lovely large brown eyes who has become a Christian, is filled with far more peace than her wealthy mistress Diana. In Diana, though, Sara sees a spark of faith that could be fanned into a flame. And in Diana's strikingly handsome brother, Antonius, a Tribune of Rome, she sees a man at the pinnacle of power, searching for something more. Against the tableau of the twilight of the Roman Empire-soon to be torched by the mad Nero-is a love story that transcends time.