Claudia has a privileged life. Niece of Romes favoured warrior, she lives in luxury, surrounded by her family and tended by slaves. Gifted with second sight, her dreams tell her many things, from which gladiator will win the battle in the Coliseum to the secret enemies who plot against the Emperor. When Claudia falls deeply in love with a charismatic soldier known as Pilate, she determines to win his heart, whatever the cost. Ignoring the warnings, she enchants Pilate with a love-spell and the pair are swiftly, blissfully, married. As wife to one of Romes rising stars, Claudia is admired and talked about, for her beauty, for her lavish parties and for her gift of the sight. Yet her dreams begin to trouble her... Rome is built on powerful, treacherous alliances, and while Pilates star continues to rise, shame and tragedy stalk Claudias family. As a circle of betrayal and despair threatens to encompass her, Claudia realises her fate and future happiness is inextricably bound with a man who appears in her dreams, a man who wears a crown of thorns, a man she knows her husband must not condemn to death ...