Overview
"The gods are punishing us!" wailed the people on the beach as torrents of fiery ash and rock rained down on them. Petronia clutched the baby close to her, and the kindly soldier shielded her with his cloak. Suddenly a terrifying blast made the ground tremble beneath their feet. They must find somewhere to hide from the volcano's fury. . . .
The archaeologist carefully scraped the dirt away from the nearly 2,000-year-old skeleton lying on Herculaneum's ancient beachfront. When Sara Bisel knelt down for a closer look, she noticed a sword lying beside it. Could this be a Roman soldier, she wondered. Sara knew that if she listened carefully, these bones could tell her an amazing story. . . .