While serving as a tribune in Rome's legions in Old Judea during the first century AD, Novemus Opimius Validus was mortally wounded. But he was then touched by the healing hand of Jesus Christ himself. After that momentous occasion, his life forever changed. Validus witnesses Christ's fabled and momentous Sermon on the Mount and becomes a secret Christian, embarking on an astounding journey that puts him in close proximity to other monumental historical figures, including Christ's devoted apostle, Peter. He encounters the young and demented Emperor Gaius Caligula, his unlikely successor and uncle; the stuttering, physically crippled, and oft-ridiculed but kindly Emperor Claudius; and Claudius's lifelong friend, the illustrious King Herod Agrippa. From the lowly depths of the gladiatorial arena to the grand halls of the Roman Senate and later to the Roman Emperor's chair, Validus changes the path of Roman history, making a distinct connection between faith and empire. In this second installment of a four-part series, author C. Martinez Landrau offers a fascinating look at what ancient Rome might have been like had a man destined to become its greatest emperor also been one of Christianity's first Roman converts, albeit secretly ...