Eighteen-year-old Marcus is the son of a great Roman general, Cracis, who had fallen from grace some years previously. Marcus and his father live quietly on a small farm in southern Italy along with an old ex-soldier, Serge. Marcus wants nothing more than to be a soldier, but his father has forbidden any discussion of the topic. One day a stranger comes to the farm and succeeds in convincing Marcus' father to join him in a war against the Gauls. Cracis forbids Marcus to follow him, but Marcus is a head-strong young man. Who is the stranger? Will Marcus find his father? Who will win the war with the Gauls? Find the answer to these questions in Marcus the Young Centurion by George Manville Fenn.