Marcus’s Uncle Aquila, a retired soldier turned magistrate, lives at the edge of the town of Calleva, in a typical Roman household structured around a courtyard and surrounded by gardens. The only unique aspect of his dwelling is the presence of a watchtower at one edge of the wall surrounding it. Marcus finds that his uncle is entirely unlike his father; though they were brothers, it seems their only commonality was their careers as soldiers. Twenty years Marcus’s father’s senior, Uncle Aquila spends his days writing a military history. Slowly, Marcus and his uncle become acquainted. Like Marcus and his father, Uncle Aquila served in Britain, and upon his retirement he returned there to live, a decision Marcus struggles to understand. His Uncle Aquila explains that though he was born in Rome, the most pivotal moments of his life occurred on the island of Britain, and the sentimental attachment he developed to the land made it feel more like home than the place of their birth.

Although he is welcomed wholeheartedly into the home of his Uncle Aquila, Marcus’s first months there are miserable for him. In the aftermath of his trauma, has not only his physical pain to contend with, but a sense of intense loneliness stemming from the absence of others his own age.