The six-year-old child of a rich patrician family, Tuccia is selected by lottery to join the Vestal Virgin priestesses and be responsible for guarding a goddess's eternally burning fire. Although devastated at being separated from her parents, Tuccia dedicates herself wholeheartedly to serving Vesta, both to protect Rome from the gods' displeasure and to avoid fatal punishment for neglecting her duties. Behind Tuccia's prestige and honor lies a dangerous world where citizens are eager to punish religious leaders for imagined infractions, and retaining virginity is the difference between life and death. When the war against Carthage spurs the wrongful execution of a priestess Tuccia loves as a mother, her adulation for Vesta is squashed by her anger at the unfairness of her loss. Her sense of purpose is upended, disorienting her until she is caught in a web of scandal. The one person who can save Tuccia from live burial is the one person she cannot forgive: the goddess Vesta. A leap of faith might save Tuccia's life, if only she can find the courage to take it.