The famous historical novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz tells of events that are great and almost mythical. The first century AD, imperial Rome of a half-crazed performer, Nero—obsessed with grandeur. The burning Eternal City, beasts tearing the bodies of slaves apart in the circus arena, unimaginable orgies and mass executions… On this blood- and tears-soaked land unfolds a tragic story of the first Christians: the apostles Peter and Paul accept martyrdom. Into the fabric of his truly epic narrative, the author weaves plots of the dramatic fate of Petronius, a refined aesthete and skeptic, and of the burning love of the Roman patrician Marcus Vinicius for a Christian woman, Ligia—love made unstoppable, sanctified by true faith—prompting the reader to ponder the freedom of choice granted to a person.