The year is 9 AD, and Publius Quinctilius Varus has just been appointed by Emperor Caesar Augustus to oversee the subjugation of the Germanic people and annexation of the German lands. Varus, a lawyer and former governor of Syria, has frighteningly little experience as a military leader. He is resolved to prove himself as one, nevertheless. He believes the Germanic people to be conquered. He is wrong. His ranks are filled with seasoned veterans and...