The year is 6 CE. The family Plautii have reached the pinnacle of the Roman social hierarchy and politics, led by the charismatic Aulus Plautius and his cousin Silvanus; but that position will be threatened from unlooked-for sources, both inside and outside the family. Silvanus has left his wife and children in Rome to take his place as Governor of Pamphylia and Galatia in the east, but behind him, chaos descends as his wife spirals out of control and his son behaves in unexpected, scandalous ways. Meanwhile, the elder Aulus takes on an investigation into a shadowy figure named Facilus, unaware that the trail will lead him into a case that threatens both his hedonistic cousin, Rufus, and the family name, with disaster.