In 527, Vitalian sails to Alexandria to study but, instead, falls in love with the exotic pagan, Passara. Spurned, the young Byzantine noble enlists in the legions. In 530, the officer is captured by barbarians who cross the frozen Danube and enslave him in the Dacian gold mines. Rescued by his uncle's killer, Zimarchus, Vitalian becomes Empress Theodora's personal bodyguard. The elite cavalry officer then commands in Africa, Corsica and Italy. There, the interminable war drags on. On leave in Constantinople, Vitalian falls in love with Justina but is sent back to the front. Mortally wounded, in 553, the commander dictates his memoirs. Vitalian's autobiography spans war in the East, imperial adventure and the Italian debacle. Troubled, Vitalian refuses to confess. Did he kill Queen Amalsuintha as Theodora ordered?