Third-century North Africa, where Christianity trembles on the edge of persecution. Into this world of sun-drenched decadence and flickering faith steps Agellius, a young man whose soul cannot find peace among the idols of Rome. Through the lush colonies of Sicca Veneria, Newman traces the agonizing collision between pagan indifference and Christian conviction, led by the mysterious figure of Callista herself. This is no mere period drama but a fever dream of the spirit: a novel written by a man in the midst of his own desperate theological transformation, who understood that to choose Christ in the ancient world was to choose crucifixion. The prose carries the weight of Victorian reverence, yet burns with genuine longing. For readers who crave historical fiction that interrogates rather than merely illustrates, that asks what it costs to believe when belief means standing alone.
