AD 64—Rome is in the throes of a Christian persecution. A celebrated molossus dog of war, Cassius, returns to Rome after a long, exhaustive war campaign, but the Rome that receives him as a hero is not the Rome he expected. Disillusioned, he is aimless until he meets a young, vulnerable cat, Livia, who provides him with a motive for living. However, Cassius must survive the conspiracies and intrigues of the Roman court. He has much to gain or lose in this treacherous political milieu. Cassius must navigate the machinations and wiles of the eccentric emperor, his ambitious daughter, Lady Flavia, and the aggression of the ruthless pugnaces hounds of the praetorian guards—inveterate arch-enemies of the molossus breed. Can Cassius protect Livia and her persecuted community hiding in the catacombs? Will Cassius manage to attain his destiny? A suspenseful anthropomorphic allegory about the decline of the Roman Empire, this novella is a direct sequel to the award-winning “General Jack and the Battle of the Five Kingdoms.”