"There are rules for private informers accepting a new
case. Never take on clients who cannot pay you. Never do
favours for friends. Don't work with relatives. If, like me,
you are a woman, keep clear of men you find attractive.
"Will I never learn?"
In
Ancient Rome, the number of slaves was far greater than that
of free citizens. As a result, often the people Romans
feared most were the "enemies at home," the slaves under
their own roofs. Because of this, Roman law decreed that if
the head of a household was murdered at home, and the
culprit wasn't quickly discovered, his slaves--all of them,
guilty or not--were presumed responsible and were put to
death. Without exception.
When a couple is found dead
in their own bedroom and their house burglarized, some of
their household slaves know what is about to happen to them.
They flee to the Temple of Ceres, which by tradition is
respected as a haven for refugees. This is where Flavia
Albia comes in. The authorities, under pressure from all
sides, need a solution. Albia, a private informer just like
her father, Marcus Didius Falco, is asked to solve the
murders, in this mystery from Lindsey Davis.