As Hun hordes and Germanic tribes maraud through Imperial lands, two legendary men - Attila the Hun and the "Last of the Romans" General Flavius Aetius find their fortunes entangled with the chaos. Flavius Aetius, a noble Roman son, is an outsider in a savage land. He has been banished, given as hostage to the barbaric Huns and sent to the edge of the world. What the Huns do not know, however, is that his father and mother have been murdered in a coup. He is an orphan, with no value at all. His life hangs on a lie. In this new harsh world, he manages to find one grudging ally, a young boy named Attila. A brotherhood is formed.

One that, the shamans foretell, will shatter the world. Competition: Simon Scarrow; Conn Iggulden; Robert Harris; Bernard Cornwell; Dan Jones; Ben Kane; Ian Ross; Anthony Riches; Simon Turney; Alex Gough; Peter Gibbons; David Gilman; Ken Follett; K. M. Ashman; Matthew Harffy; Griff Hosker; Steven A. McKay; J C Duncan; Angus Donald.