The Shadow of the Emperor

Cleopatra and Livia Drusilla. One was an audacious Egyptian queen and the richest woman of the known world, the other an influential Roman empress known for upholding the virtues of hearth and home. While Cleopatra ruled openly flaunting luxury and excess, Livia wielded her authority behind the scenes with strategic gravitas. The one link between them was Livia's husband, the Roman emperor Augustus, who conquered Egypt and desired to use her fallen queen as his trophy. All of Egypt's riches would ultimately become Rome's except for one cache that secretly passed from Cleopatra to Livia.Because Livia Drusilla had a plan: by involving the Vestal Virgins, the most powerful cult of priestesses in the ancient world, she would launch a plot to hide the one object of Cleopatra's priceless treasures that she believed would ensure female sovereignty, her intent being nothing less than to ensure that a woman would someday rule the world.Over two millennia later, enter Phoebe McCabe and the Agency of the Ancient Lost and Found. What begins as a kidnapping involving her nefarious ex soon unravels into a quest to find this potent treasure. That Phoebe must battle her own conscience as well the man who has plagued her for years is one thing, the quest to locate an ancient hoard buried by women who lived thousands of years ago quite another. Accomplishing this will mean plunging deep into history's bleakest moments while battling natural as well as human forces and wrestling ethical dilemmas that pitch Phoebe against all in which she believes.From London to Rome and Pompeii, Phoebe and her agency run the gauntlet of gunrunners and art thieves, their ultimate mission being to save the art of the past for all humanity instead of just the privilege few. Yet, there is always a price to pay and the question remains whether Phoebe can afford the ultimate sacrifice.Welcome to the Agency of the Ancient Lost & Found book 6.