Clouds of war
(Book)

In 213 B.C., as the forces of both Rome and Hannibal's army from Carthage are still reeling from the losses at the Battle of Canae, the second Punic War rages on. With more and more of Rome's Italian allies switching allegiance to Carthage, the stakes continue to increase. When the major Sicilian city of Syracuse defects to Hannibal, Rome sends all that it has to retake the city. Now, outside the nearly impregnable city walls, a vast Roman Army besieges the city. Inside the city, tensions and politics are an even greater threat. Two men--once boyhood friends, now find themselves fighting on opposing sides--are about to face each other once again. Caught between them is a woman. All three trapped in one of the most famous and brutal sieges of all time.