The Gladiatorial Games Didn't Just Happen. They Had to Be Made.Rome, 80 AD. They called it the Flavian Amphitheatre. We call it the Colosseum. It hosted brutal gladiatorial combats, exotic wild animal hunts, naval battles, and the re-enactment of extraordinary mythological adventures. But behind every spectacle was a team of people making it all possible: sourcing celebrity gladiators and dangerous animals, ordering sand for the arena floor, and even figuring out how to flood the Colosseum.Marcus, manager of the Games, is haunted by the loss of his wife and child in Pompeii's fiery destruction. Althea, his scribe, seeks her place in the world as a freedwoman, learning to speak her own heart amidst the chaos. Together with an ex-prostitute, a retired Vestal Virgin, a runaway slave boy and others cast aside by Rome, they form a found family whose loyalty, courage, and love are tested at every turn.Step behind the scenes of Rome's greatest spectacle and follow Marcus, Althea, and their companions through fire, water, earth, and air. Experience the danger, drama, and tender moments of life lived in the shadows of the greatest amphitheatre ever built. Life, love and loyal friendships in a crumbling apartment block in a shabby part of Rome.
