The final book in her series about the men who established Rome of the Emperors, The October Horse features Gaius Julius Caesar at the height of his stupendous career. When he becomes embroiled in a civil war between Egypt's King Ptolemy and Queen Cleopatra, he finds himself torn between the fascinations of a remarkable woman and his duty as a Roman. Though he must leave Cleopatra, she remains a force in his life as a lover and as the mother of his only son, who can never inherit Caesar's Roman mantle, and therefore cannot solve his father's greatest dilemma -- who will be Caesar's Roman heir?
A hero to all of Rome except to those among his colleagues who see his dictatorial powers as threats to the democratic system they prize so highly, Caesar is determined not to be worshiped as a god or crowned king. Swearing to bring him down, Caesar's enemies masquerade as friends and loyal supporters while they plot to destroy him. Caesar must die, they decide, for only when he is dead will Rome return to her old republican self.
Packed with battles, intrigue, love affairs, and murders, The October Horse hurtles toward the assassination, and onto the dangerous consequences of that act -- in which the very fate of Rome is at stake.