All along the Mediterranean coast, the Roman empire’s richest citizens are relaxing in their luxurious villas, enjoying the last days of summer. The world’s largest navy lies peacefully at anchor in Misenum. The tourists are spending their money in the seaside resorts of Baiae, Herculaneum, and Pompeii.

But the carefree lifestyle and gorgeous weather belie an impending cataclysm, and only one man is worried. The young engineer Marcus Attilius Primus has just taken charge of the Aqua Augusta, the enormous aqueduct that brings fresh water to a quarter of a million people in nine towns around the Bay of Naples. His predecessor has disappeared. Springs are failing for the first time in generations. And now there is a crisis on the Augusta’s sixty-mile main line—somewhere to the north of Pompeii, on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius.

Attilius—decent, practical, and incorruptible—promises Pliny, the famous scholar who commands the navy, that he can repair the aqueduct before the reservoir runs dry. His plan is to travel to Pompeii and put together an expedition, then head out to the place where he believes the fault lies. But Pompeii proves to be a corrupt and violent town, and Attilius soon discovers that there are powerful forces at work—both natural and man-made—threatening to destroy him.

With his trademark elegance and intelligence, Robert Harris, bestselling author of Archangel and Fatherland , re-creates a world on the brink of disaster.

From the Hardcover edition.

罗伯特·哈里斯，英国最重量级畅销小说，一九五七年出生于英国诺丁汉，毕业于剑桥大学。他曾担任英国广播公司（BBC）记者、《观察者报》编辑、《星期日泰晤士报》和《每日电讯报》专栏作家。二00三年曾获得英国新闻奖，英国新闻奖被公认为英语新闻业的奥斯卡，是英国新闻业者的最高荣誉。 他自一九九三年开始小说创作，作品包括长篇小说《祖国》、《谜》、《大天使》、《庞贝》和《帝国》以及五部非小说著作。其中《大天使》、《谜》都曾被改拍成电影，他本人也曾参与多部电影的编剧及制作。著名导演罗曼·波兰斯基对他的作品推崇备至。