Book review by Irene Hahn. The Secundus Papyrus is a mystery constructed in the 5th century A.D. and largely taking place in the imperial city of Ravenna, in the Western Empire.

Getorius Asterius, orphaned by the murder of his parents, had been brought to Ravenna and trained as a physician. He is married to Arcadia Valeriana, a beautiful but headstrong young Roman woman, determined to become a 'medica' herself.
Getorius is called in by the young emperor Valentinian to examine the drowning death of a Hibernian hermit....