The time was the late Imperial period, an era when Rome wore her vast empire like a huge ancient toga, worn thin from overuse, badly tattered and frayed around the edges, and studded too sparsely with precious jewels. Galla Placidia was one of those few precious jewels . . . a brilliant diamond sparkling in the last rays of a setting sun. This historical novel is based on the true story of a remarkable woman who lived at a major crossroads of history, when the ancient pagan past was overtaken by the strong young religion of Christianity. Daughter, sister, wife, and mother of emperors, Galla Placidia was instrumental in leading Rome through the tumultuous transition from a pagan to a Christian state. The product of three years of research and visits to each of the original sites from Lisbon to Istanbul, the book follows the life of Galla Placidia from her privileged Imperial youth and her abduction by the Goths when she was twenty, through her marriage to the Gothic chieftain and his assassination, to her return to Rome, her marriage to the Roman emperor, and finally to the years she served as regent for her young son. Even in death, Galla Placidia’s story defies the ordinary—Galla Placidia is buried in the catacombs beneath St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, resting near the Great Fisherman himself