Last Act in Palmyra — Lindsey Davis

There are times when a shamus has to get out of town, even in A.D. 72. With money and woman troubles mounting in Rome, Falco is heading east to search for a missing Roman Circus performer and to carry out a secret spy mission for the Emperor. The woman causing Falco's heart trouble, Helena Justina, a senator's daughter, is coming along for the trip. She can't live openly with the plebeian Falco, who is below her in rank. But she can't live without him, either. Ergo, they're together in desolate, dangerous Syria to find a corpse, lose a lady, and join a traveling theater troupe where the last act is, of course, murder.