Pliny the Younger and Tacitus have another mystery to solve - actually layers of mysteries. During dinner at the emperor Domitian's palace, a workman is discovered dead in the archives. Why is this humble man's death important to the ruler of Rome? Domitian assigns Pliny to uncover references to an unknown heir of Augustus Caesar in a memoir of Nero's mother. Why does Domitian suspect his own copy of the memoir is incomplete? And how does his suspicion relate to the niece of Pliny's old friend and mentor? Is Tacitus' father-in-law Agricola a villain or a potential victim? Like a sinister red line slashed through a carefully prepared manuscript, the legacy of the great Augustus marks the connections to slaves of Pliny's own household. Pliny and Tacitus must descend to the Stygian underworld of Nero's buried "golden house" to find answers. Will the answers save the peace of Rome, or mark its doom?