In 31 B.C., the forces of Marc Antony and Kleopatra are defeated at the sea battle at Actium. Rather than face the victor, Octavian, Kleopatra takes her own life in one of history’s most memorable suicides. Octavian’s most trusted general, Agrippa, is charged with delivering the last heirs of the Ptolemaic dynasty to Rome.

Stunned by the deaths of their parents, the tearful children - twins Kleopatra Selene and Alexander Helios and the younger Ptolemy - begin their fateful journey to Rome. Because they are so young, Kleopatra’s children view their circumstances through the eyes of childhood, desperate to remain alive and gain Octavian’s favor that they may someday return to rule Alexandria in his name.

Moran’s novel is unique in its perspective, the changing environment of Kleopatra’s heirs and their inability to control their circumstances or their future. Selene describes the journey to Rome, the painful loss of their younger brother en route, and the arrival before the man responsible for the death of their family.

Selene, Moran’s young protagonist, is witness to the loss of Alexandria and the majesty of Octavian’s Rome, the new faces of his household, both friend and enemy, an infatuation with a young man promised to another, a yearning to belong somewhere, and the precariousness of their position as the only remaining heirs, a distant threat to Octavian.

Rome is revealed in all its splendor and ugliness: the games, gladiators and violent entertainments, the senate, the justice system, the political terrain, and a potentially explosive slave uprising. Against this dramatic background, Selene and Alexander seek to fit in, make friends, and secure their future with Octavian’s blessing.

Although Octavian is engaged fighting wars on other fronts and quelling the roiling slave rebellion, his spies are everywhere. The children seek to impress the adults with their sweet natures and willing attitudes, each developing fine instincts for the injustices they witness. They remain Octavian’s pawns, trusting they will sway the emperor in their favor.

For all her tentative security, Selene develops a social awareness beyond her years, the inequities of Roman life devastating to her gentle soul. While a great love affair simmers in the wings, Moran’s treatment allows the reader to see Rome as Selene and Alexander live it, from grief and youthful inexperience, navigating a dangerous world, Octavian a bird of prey ever vigilant of his interests.

Fate descends with a vengeance, writing the next chapter in the history of a remarkable period. Moran’s particular talent captures the essence of Cleopatra’s daughter and a Rome defined by power and politics.

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