Young Télemachos, the new cabin boy of the merchant ship Seléné, escaped the harsh conditions of the port district of Piraeus only by a stroke of luck. However, he has no idea of the enormous dangers that lurk at sea. For example, it only takes a pirate ship to appear on the horizon – and the life of everyone on board hangs by a thread. After a bloody battle, the victor, the pirate captain Bulla, presents the defeated with a cruel choice: join us or die. Télemachos survives the brutal initiation ceremony, and the captain soon notices his cleverness, resourcefulness, and strength. But discontent brews among the crew. Moreover, Télemachos justifiably fears that their entire brotherhood is on the brink of destruction. Prefect Canis, the notorious Roman commander of the imperial fleet in Ravenna, has sworn to wipe out the pirates in the Adriatic Sea to the last man. Who dares to stand against the ever-powerful Rome? Perhaps only one who has dedicated his entire life to a single goal: to free his older brother from slavery. A man like Télemachos.
