24 parts Ongoing MatureThalia, an unremarkable slave of taller than average height, but with a face plainer than unflavored Greek yogurt, lives in one of Rome's many tucked away suburbs. She serves a similarly uninspiring- yet aggressively ambitious mistress, Marcella. Their relationship is an odd one; on the one hand, Thalia acts as her lady's maid and attendant, but on the other, she is Marcella's confidant and spy. The pair coexist in relative harmony. Except for one detail: at night, when the city is fast asleep, Thalia blossoms into one of Rome's leading starlets. The gods blessed her with the voice of a songbird, and she is determined to use it. All she desires is to earn enough money to purchase her freedom and retire into relative obscurity. Thalia is no fool; she understands she walks a fine line and is prone to tip over any day now. When a wayward soldier sees through the glitz and glamor of her facade, she feels the scale tipping. Thalia knows she can't resist him, not when for the first, and only time in her life, she is wholly accepted.
Alex is a centurion on leave, and he is restless. During his days he manages his family's burgeoning enterprise, but he is bored out of his mind. He finds diversion in visiting shitty hole-in-the-walls in the evenings. He meets a woman who could be described as nothing other than an enigma at a tavern called The Pig's Den. His fascination quickly spirals into infatuation. Especially when they begin to cross paths in places they should not, namely, in broad daylight. He begins to realize that she is not who she presents herself as, but he quickly learns that this doesn't bother him in the slightest.
Between double lives and defiance, the pair play a dangerous game. Their union results in a blaze that consumes them- and threatens to raze everything they know and love. They can't stop the fire, but the question is whether or not the star-crossed lovers can make it out on the other side of the flames unsinged.
