AD 79 Drusilla was the woman of his dreams. Suetonius swore his eternal devotion to the merchant's daughter. A gladiator's word is his bond. Present Day Classics professor Damiano De Luca feels ridiculous in the gladiator costume he wears after losing a bet, and seeing Stephanie Marlowe waiting in line outside the Pompeii Archaeological Park makes him feel even worse. She's gorgeous … and looks so familiar. Without thinking, the handsome Italian addresses Stephanie in the old tongue: "Salve, Drusilla." Her reply? "Salve, Thraex." Through untold disaster in the recesses of time and up to the present day, Dom and Stephanie must discover the truth about Pompeii Fire.