It is the year 472 and the Roman empire is still strong in an alternative Earth where magic exists. The Roman authorities hate and suppress the use of magic, which by its nature is wild and uncontrollable.

Unknown to the empress and her brother, rulers of the mighty empire, they have an enemy, one that is inexorable; destructive; remorseless; a conduit for elemental forces. By driving magic away, the Romans did not make it weaker, only wilder and darker. And now the White Dragon is back, the empire is at her mercy.

From a remote village in north Wales comes Arthyr, a beautiful young man of nineteen, who is the antithesis of Roman values. Yet the empress and her officers need his power over magic to assist their armies and face the White Dragon.

Sent to train in Roman boot camp, Arthyr is the most difficult, insubordinate recruit the Roman sergeant-majors have ever had to deal with.