Felix Appius Julianus is brought to Britain in the wake of the disastrous loss of the Ninth Legion Hispana, to command its replacement, the Sixth Legion Victrix.

Centurion Valerius Silvanus, posted to the doomed Ninth and arriving only in time to learn of its destruction, is instead sent to the Sixth to help integrate the remaining soldiers of the disgraced legion.

Meanwhile, new Emperor Hadrian, successor to Trajan who extended Rome's borders to their farthest reach, has ordered Britain's frontier pulled back to more a defensible line. A great wall, splitting the island in two, is commissioned.

But the wall cuts across the middle of tribal land and is fiercely resented, and the ghosts, both living and dead, of the destroyed Ninth continue to plague the work, making both men wonder whether there are some things that cannot be kept out...

A gripping tale of the origin of Rome's most powerful landmark in Britain, packed with action and adventure.


Amanda Cockrell, writing as Damion Hunter, grew up in Ojai, California, and developed a fascination with the Romans when a college friend gave her Rosemary Sutcliff’s books to read. After a checkered career as a newspaper feature writer and a copywriter for a rock radio station, she taught literature and creative writing for many years at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia, where she now lives.


© 2026 Amanda Cockrell (P) 2026 DK Audio