Orphaned by Rome's savage legions, Thea, a slave girl from Judea, has learned what it takes to survive. Used by her master and bullied by his spoilt daughter, she knows only violence until a chance meeting with gladiator Arius offers a shred of tenderness. But their bond is severed when Thea is sold again, condemned to rot in squalor. Seven years later, a singer known as Athena charms the city's elite. Polished and elegant, she betrays no hint of her troubled past. She catches the eye of the Emperor - a slave girl has come to be called the Mistress of Rome ...