The signs are on storm. The Roman Empire is sinking into civil war - everything the time travellers have worked for appears to dissolve in an orgy of violence. The usurper Maximus is gaining the upper hand and the planned counterstrike proves to be more and more unworkable. The cruiser Saarbrücken, once again deprived of its port, is sent on an odyssey. Betrayal and intrigue lurk on the way. And as a new, deadly danger threatens to shake the Empire to its foundations, all those involved are left with nothing more than the means for another escape.