Alaric's Gold

Does a riverbed in southern Italy still conceal the priceless hoard of�Roman treasure that was buried in the grave of Alaric the Goth, just�months after his warlike hordes had looted Rome in 410 AD?�Described by readers as a `laugh-out-loud comedy caper',�Alaric's Gold is the hilarious story of the race to discover the grave�and seize the fabulous treasure within it.���Set in modern-day Italy, this fast-paced and gripping thriller plays host to a cast including a roguish Italian prime minister, his favourite escort girl, dissolute diplomats, corrupt police officers and the mafia. The action involves a helicopter jail break, kidnappings and a shoot-out with the mafia. On one level, this is a light and amusing story set in the present day,�but on another it draws on genuine historical records to point the way to one of the richest graves in antiquity - a grave that, according to Edward Gibbon in The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, was constructed in a riverbed�after its waters had been diverted `by the labour of a captive multitude',�a grave containing `the splendid spoils and trophies of Rome', one whose secrecy was assured by the `inhuman massacre of the prisoners who had been employed to execute the work', and one about which the world appears�largely to have forgotten. The grave awaits discovery.