Summary

In the prologue of the novel, Julius Caesar, current Emperor of Rome, writes to his niece, Atia, in 45 B.C. Caesar begins his letter with a command: send the boy to Apollonia. Atia’s son, Gaius Octavius, is on his way back to Rome, having just accompanied Julius Caesar on a military campaign in Spain. Caesar believes that Octavius is meant for greatness, but he has not yet learned enough to fulfill his destiny.

Julius Caesar continues his letter by reminding Atia that he had hoped to adopt Octavius as a legal son and heir. However, the adoption was blocked by Marcus Antonius, one of Caesar’s peers who dreams of succeeding the throne instead. Others in Rome also plot for the throne, according to Caesar: Atia’s husband, Marcius Phillipus, and his friend, Cicero, to name a few (although he...