There is no escape for those upon whom the gladiator Vulpus the Fox desires to visit vengeance.And the man who has butchered more opponents than any fighter in Imperial Rome possesses the terrifying skills which can inflict a cruel, drawn-out death.Among the brothels and arenas of Pompeii he seeks out the next victim in his relentless hunt for the man who tortured and slayed a beautiful British princess long ago. But as he corners his quarry, a grey volcanic dust begins to fall onto the doomed city ...

Rome A.D. 81. The screams of his admirers echo across the crowded Colosseum as the gladiator Vulpus brings another opponent to the point of death. Wounds gape, blood seeps into the burning sand and the mob howls for the kill. Vulpus raises his sword. And freezes. For the man before him is no stranger. And the gladiator's thoughts turn inwards, back eight years to the sunbaked hill fortress of fearful repute. Back to Masada...