The continuation of the story of the broad-stripe tribune Marcus Carinna, who has now taken the name Aquilo. He travels with his trusty ex-gladiator bodyguards and freedman secretary into Germanic territory, called here the Mark, in order to find his woman, the ex-hostage Aurima. He dreams of finding the third lost Eagle from the Varian disaster, which had occurred a generation before. He hopes this deed will restore honor to his family name. Betrayed, he is taken captive and becomes a slave in Aurima's father's tribe until his escape. Hoping to capture him and return him to Rome for trial is the Prefect of the espionage arm of the Praetorians, the slimy Lamia and his henchman, the evil Glabrio [pejoratively called "Bat Ears" for a physical peculiarity] for occurrences that had happened in the first volume. There are ambushes, skirmishes and battles with the Germans. Carinna/Aquilo makes a great personal sacrifice to bring peace between Rome and the tribes. Lamia takes him back to Carnuntum where for the murder of Glabrio, he appears finally before the governor of Pannonia for judgment. The lies and machinations of Lamia are revealed with a just punishment for Lamia. Although I liked the ending, some of the events right before did seem a bit contrived: namely, the incidents involving the two parchments. The Amber Road refers to a trade route to the north. Germanic settlements important to the story are located at the end of paths leading from it. Very good, but not quite as enjoyable as the 1st volume, [Roma Amor: A Novel of Caligula's Rome]. I did appreciate the map showing the area around the Amber Road pointing out various places important to the story--the settlements, the tavern, the bridge. With my interest in etymology, it was fun to compare the author's use of Old Germanic with what I know of modern German.

Highly recommended. I thank the author very much for sending me a copy of her novel. ( )