The first in Caroline Lawrences internationally bestselling Roman Mysteries series re-issued with a fantastic new cover look. Flavia Gemina is a natural at solving mysteries. The daughter of a ships captain living in Ostia the port of Rome in AD79 she and her three friends Jonathan a Jewish boy (and secretly a Christian); Nubia an African slave girl; and Lupus a mute beggar boy must work together to discover who is beheading the watchdogs that guard peoples homes and why. A talented storyteller Caroline Lawrence has created a delightfully readable and accessible series that children will want to read time and time again.