There is no escape for those upon whom the gladiator Vulpus the Fox desires to visit vengeance. And the man who has butchered more opponents than any fighter in Imperial Rome possesses the terrifying skills which can inflict a cruel, drawn-out death. Among the brothels and arenas of Pompeii he seeks out the next victim in his relentless hunt for the man who tortured and slayed a beautiful British princess long ago. But as he corners his quarry, a grey volcanic dust begins to fall onto the doomed city ...