An epic novel of London, from the Crucifixion to the 20th century. Fifteen years after the crucifixion, John Fox, a man others instinctively fear, a barbarian wearing a prince's cloak, returns from the Holy Land to the city of Luan-dun bearing thirty pieces of silver. The city of Luan-dun is a shell, a Roman encampment from which the occupying army is making Britain its own. But Fox understands the conquerors and is determined to forge a place for himself and the family he almost lost. And to create a dynasty which, bound together by the tragic gift of Judas Iscariot, will flourish over two thousand years--its roots in the city whose destiny is intertwined with their own.