Fabius never wanted to be a gladiator, but the priesthood--his true calling--wouldn’t accept him. When a flash of white light takes his partner Dursus from the arena, leaving him alone to face Brutus’ wrath, Fabius is certain this is the end. The gods have exacted their payment--by sending him through time?

Max studied the legend of the five gladiators who disappeared without a trace. He never imagined the final one would arrive on his doorstep. For a professor of Roman history, Fabius’ arrival is like a dream come true. For the man, his body is an exquisite marvel and one in which he can take hours of pleasure. The sword he’d been studying may have belonged to a gladiator. Now, it belongs to his lover and the legend has come full circle.

Greg restores ancient weapons. When the ancient Roman gladius he's storing, brings him Lucius the gladiator, he's intrigued. A backyard barbecue at Ezra's house with his friend Gabriel, and both men's lovers, Marius and Titus reveals that Lucius isn't the first gladiator to come through time, and he won't be the last. Except Lucius believes Greg is the embodiment of his lover Gregor, who was killed by Roman Soldiers, and Greg isn't certain how feels about being a gladiator's lost love.

Lucius prayed to Janus just like Marius and Titus before him. His heart broken from the death of Gregor, he just wants freedom--a new life. Surely Janus will take him away, too. When he finds himself in Greg's home, and discovers the man has his gladius, he knows the gods had their hands in this, for Greg looks exactly like Gregor, the man he loved and lost. He won't lose his lover again, even if it means learning to live in this strange time and place.