Nominee: 2017 Polari First Book Prize In 4th Century Alexandria, a poor orphan learns to scribe. Meanwhile Rufius, a rich Roman, tends the books in his care and yearns for the youth on the streets. It's a time of rampant bishops, mad heretics, and a city so ruled by passion it is set to consume itself along with the world's greatest library. As the poor boy and the rich Roman unite, hell almost literally breaks loose. A rich novel of Ancient Rome, in the spirit of Mary Renault, Marguerite Yourcenar and Paul Waters.