Set in 432 AD, Paul Valerius is a very rich young man. His stepfather has just passed away leaving him the sole heir to his vast fortune; he has also inherited the wealth of the House of Valerius from his father who died in battle some years previously. But Paul Valerius is dissatisfied with his current lifestyle which he feels is steered by wine, women and debauchery. He decides the time has come to change, and dividing his wealth between his mother and sister, he leaves Ravenna, Italy and sails down the Adriatic coast... Barely surviving the Black Plague in Athens and being left for dead in the wilderness by the Saxons are just some of the dangers Paul encounters in his quest to find his godfather in Britain.