With her renowned storytelling gifts in full force, Colleen McCullough delivers a breathtaking novel that proves once again that she is the top historical novelist of our time. Grand in scope and vivid in detail, McCullough's gripping narrative thrusts readers headlong into the complex and fascinating world of Rome in the tumultuous last days of the Republic. At the height of his power, Gaius Julius Caesar becomes embroiled in a civil war in Egypt, where he finds himself enraptured by Cleopatra, the nation's golden-eyed queen. To do his duty as a Roman, however, he must forsake his love and return to the capital to rule. Though Caesar's grip on power seems unshakable, the political landscape is treacherous -- the returning hero has no obvious successor, and his legacy seems to be the prize for any man with the courage and cunning to fell Rome's laurelled leader. Caesar's jealous enemies masquerade as friends and scheme to oust the autocrat from power and restore true republican government to Rome. But as the plot races to its dramatic conclusion, it becomes clear that with the stakes this high, no alliance is sacred and no motives are pure.

大洋導讀：

在古羅馬，每年十月的伊德斯日，人們通過祭獻最好的戰馬——十月馬，祈求帝國永遠擁有無人匹敵的威嚴和榮光。“十月馬”正是愷撒戎馬一生和悲情命運的象徵。　　帝國的垂暮之年，尤利烏斯·愷撒是一位極富爭議性的人物。有人崇拜他，另一些人則鄙視他，但是他在元老院的統治地位卻絲毫未受撼動。迫於內戰的壓力，他不得不置天香國色、精明詭詐的情人 ——埃及艷後剋利奧帕特拉於不顧，開始著眼於帝國的未來：誰纔是繼承羅馬帝國最高統治權的閤適人選？帝國的陰影之下，謀殺無處不在。誰的智慧和狡計足以顛覆帝國的巨人？誰又可以坦然地直麵巨人坍塌後的混亂與紛爭？