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With trademark elegance and intelligence, Robert Harris recreates a world on the brink of disaster. Along the Mediterranean coast, the Roman Empire's wealthiest citizens enjoy the last days of summer in their luxurious villas, while the largest navy rests peacefully at anchor in Misenum. Tourists flock to Baiae, Herculaneum, and Pompeii, indulging in the carefree lifestyle and beautiful weather. However, an impending cataclysm looms, and only one man is concerned. Young engineer Marcus Attilius Primus has just taken charge of the Aqua Augusta, the massive aqueduct supplying fresh water to a quarter of a million people across nine towns around the Bay of Naples. With his predecessor missing and springs failing for the first time in generations, Attilius faces a crisis on the aqueduct’s sixty-mile main line, located north of Pompeii on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius. He promises Pliny, the renowned scholar commanding the navy, that he can repair the aqueduct before the reservoir runs dry. To execute his plan, Attilius travels to Pompeii to assemble an expedition, only to find the town rife with corruption and violence. He soon realizes that powerful forces—both natural and man-made—threaten to destroy him.