Calgaich the Swordsman

Son of a barbarian chieftain and a Roman noblewoman, Calgaich mac Lellan is exiled from his beloved country after slaying his cousin in a sword duel over the beautiful but vain Morar, "The Golden One."

When his father is betrayed into the hands of the Romans, Calgaich vows to overthrow his treacherous uncle and to take his rightful place as chief of the Novantae.

"The gods do not mean to let you return home." Recalling the prophecy of Cairenn, the bewitching slave woman, Calgaich is captured and condemned to the arena in Rome, from which few gladiators emerge alice.