For the heroes of Rome, and its enemies, it is a time of reckoning. There is a saying in Rome: the Tarpeian Rock is near the Capitoline--meaning that even at the height of power, one is never far from a fall. As the Vestalis Maxima, Pomponia has guided her order through the collapse of Rome's Republic and the rise of the Empire. Her wit and piety have elevated the Vestals to a position of unprecedented prestige--and her friendship with Caesar...