Paulina is the illegitimate daughter and worst-kept secret of the Roman Emperor Sabinian. They have each lived separate lives since Paulina's conception, but when Sabinian falls ill while leading the Roman army in the farthest reaches of the Empire, he summons his daughter from her comfortable villa in Rome to his makeshift bedside on the battlefields. Reluctantly, Paulina, who's never even left the precincts of Rome, agrees to make the perilous trip.
On the carriage ride into the pine forests of Germania, Paulina is accompanied by Sextus, a burly officer of the Praetorian Guard. Though initially terrified of him, Paulina finds solace in Sextus's strong arms. And it is Sextus who reveals to her the true purpose of the journey. Sabinian wants to seal her future before he dies, but the headstrong Paulina has always been steered by her own wishes and desires.
Sextus fulfills his brief and delivers Paulina safely to Sabinian, fighting off wolves and barbarians along the way. But the first and last meeting of father and daughter seems doomed to fail. Will Paulina respect the Emperor's dying wishes or follow her own heart?
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