Life is short and cheap in Nero's arenas. And now that Rawena is a gladiator, a single stab might cause the death of humanity.
Rome, 54 AD: Rawena overcomes a lion with just a spear and a dagger, making the emperor believe she's a sorceress. Cursed to unleash a plague when steel pierces her heart, the immortal Celtic woman fears that Nero's desire to learn her secrets will trigger a catastrophe. Unless her next opponent does it first.
Her fight against destiny pulls Rawena into a whirlpool of dazzling perils. The rat-goddess who cursed her strives to drag her soul into a pestilential swamp; even her sister and the man Rawena once loved conspire to destroy her.
Then the oath of a fellow gladiator makes Rawena hope she can finally live in love and peace... provided that she outsmarts the cunning rat-goddess and escapes her earthly pursuers.