Guardian of Rome

A wild-ride adventure that takes us from present-day to ancient Rome. We follow Marco, a young cyber security consultant, soon to be a father. He receives news that his mother, English archaeology professor Mary Canterbury, whom he hasn't seen in years, has been injured in the hunt for the mythical shield, Ancile. He reluctantly travels home to Rome, only to discover she has already left the hospital, headed off on new adventures. Her sponsor has gained her access to newly discovered ruins, beneath a café owned by the young Afro-Italian woman, Victoria. To protect his mother against increasing threats and in the hope that she will leave the city and come with him to England, he goes with her to the ruins. Closer to Ancile than ever, she venture further and further underground until they find an ancient time machine that sends Professor Canterbury, Marco and Victoria all the way back to Emperor Nero's Rome. Trapped back in time, they must survive the dangers of antiquity, battle time-traveling thieves from other eras who also seek the Ancile, as well as dig into their troubled past and try to find a way home. The journey revolves around the shield and in an attempt to steal it, they get separated. Victoria ends up in the clutches of the mad emperor Nero and Marco ends up in a desperate hunt for the missing mother he had only just been reunited with. The story is light and fun in tone, yet strong in theme and full of adventurous twists and turns.