The Roman emperor, Augustus Caesar, sent Publius Quinticilius Varus and three legions of Rome's finest soldiers to subdue the Germanic tribes and bring Germany into the Roman empire.

While some tribes welcomed the advance of the Romans, there were others who rebelled at the idea. One of those fomenting rebellion was Arminius. He had joined the legion to learn the battle tactics and how the Romans functioned politically so that he could use those very tactics against them.

As Quinticilius seeks to subjugate the Romans, Arminius is working to unite the tribes in a way that has never before been achieved. Even as Arminius' enemies warn the Publius of his treachery, the knowledge of Arminius' Roman citizenship keeps Quinticilius blinded to the ambitions of the soldier.

When Arminius lures the Romans into a trap which leads to a massive defeat, the Romans face their greatest loss in countless years. When Augustus hears the news, he cries to the world" Give me back my legions".

The writing was excellent but the story was of no interest to me. Roman history is one of my least favorite time periods. It took so long to build the story to the point of the battle that I was just grateful that it had finally come. Mr. Tutledove's descriptions of the battle were gory and horrific to this reader. The story held so little interest for me that I kept putting it down and reading something else as a break. Fans of alternate history and the story of Rome may find this interesting. If you are looking for a fantasy novel which will take you into another realm, I would advise skipping this one.