As invading Germanic tribes cross the frozen Rhine frontier in the bitter winter of 406AD, a patrol of Roman cavalrymen is caught unprepared by the ferocious onslaught. Taken unawares by the turn of events, their leader, Calidus, has no option but to lead his men on an arduous journey to perceived safety. This is no longer the world of the once glorious legions of old, but a brutal reality in which long-standing Roman traditions are in decline, a world in which the influence of the so-called uncivilized barbarians is taking an ever increasing hold on the crumbling Empire. The escalating crisis drives Calidus to question his once firmly held beliefs, as he unwillingly finds himself caught up in the political intrigues in an isolated border town on the Rhine frontier. His loyalties are torn in a struggle to find a balance between duty, honour, and self-preservation.