Of merchants & heroes

At the end of the third centuary BC, as republican Rome's long war with the Carthage in Africa draws to a close, a new danger is arising in the east - the ruthless and ambitious King Macedon, Philip the Fith, is moving against the independent city-states of Greece and threatening Rome itself. Against the background, Marcus, a yooung Roman, embarks on a sea crossing from Italy to Corfu with his father. Pirates, led by the wild corsair Dikairchos, ambush the ship and Marcus's father sacrifices his own life in order to save his son. -- back cover.