| Synopsis: |
In this first story in the Roman Mysteries series, the year is 79 AD, the place Ostia, the port of Rome. Flavia Gemina, a Roman sea-captain's daughter, is about to embark on an adventure. The theft of her father's signet ring leads her to three extraordinary people: Jonathan, a Jewish boy; Nubia, an African slave-girl; and Lupus, the mute beggar boy. Marigold is the world's most tattooed mum. She's also the world's most hopeless mum, forgetting to buy food for her daughters Star and Dolphin and forgetting to pay the bills. Marigold thinks she's in love with Micky, Star's father, so when she meets him again at a pop concert, she has high hopes. But Micky is more realistic and as Marigold's precarious world begins to crumble, only Star and Dolphin can hold it together. |