In this fifth and final book of The Middle Empire Series, Marcus and the VII Legion are drawn into the civil war between the Roman Empire and the breakaway Gallic Empire. Having survived the intrigues of Roma, including two assassination attempts, Marcus, Flavius, Demaratus, and their companions, Aelia, Rachel, and Coventina, return to Hispania. But now the stakes are higher. It is no longer the matter of an inheritance agreement, but if, after over 800 years, the Roman Empire will break apart in a civil war. The new Gallic Empire threatens to add this western colony to its anti-Roma alliance, and the only thing standing in its way is the VII Legion. Marcus gathers the legion and those still loyal to Roma to Corduba for a showdown. The politics-both historical and interpersonal-are intriguing, and we see the lives and loves of the characters we've grown to know in a new light. Marcus's teenage niece, Sabina, has grown from a child to a young woman and becomes an important player in what may be the VII Legion's final act. Over the decade of these books, Marcus and the VII Legion have faced enemies within and without, and have successfully vanquished them all. Can the VII Legion Hispania Gemina Pia survive its final adversary?