Chloe, the young daughter of a noble Roman man, has been lost to her father, and has spent her life as a slave on one of his own villas. Cruelly treated, and with no hope of freedom, her only escape in into the stories of her Grecian mother's home town of Eresos, as told to her by Melissa, a fellow-slave and her mother's dearest friend. Aulus, a brave young Roman solider, is banished from Rome and escapes to his own villa in the Italian countryside. There he is faced by a life-threatening misfortune, is saved by the enchanting young Chloe, and falls in love with her, despite the fact that she is a slave. 

This historically accurate 1934 Newbery Honor Book is a captivating story of adventure, love, Chloe's struggle with the anger and hatred she feels toward her father, and the forgiveness she learns that cleanses her soul.