At the start of book 2 in the Tales of Rome series, we find 13-year-old Bryn working a baker's shop in Rome but still dreaming of returning to his British homeland. Nero has been emperor for ten years and many fear him. Nero particularly dislikes Christians, who worship their own God instead of the emperor, and has had some arrested and killed.
A great fire breaks out in the city and rumours fly that the Emperor has had the fire started deliberately in order to clear ground to build a grand new palace. But others blame the Christians. Nero wants to round up a hundred Christians and have them set alight as a mighty spectacle. Will Bryn and his friends survive?
