Footprints in the Ash

August 25th, 79 A. D. On mountain slopes south of Pompeii a group of Roman citizens is fleeing the doomed city. Two thousand years later their footprints are discovered embedded in volcanic ash and a joint Anglo-Italian dig is set up. Eminent Oxford archaeologist Professor Julian Lockhart makes an exciting find, but then he vanishes mysteriously. English detectives Nick Roberts and Lucia Fabri fly out to help the Italian police investigate his disappearance, unaware of the sinister forces - both human and natural - that lie in wait for them. Their subsequent race for survival sweeps them up in an uncanny re-enactment of historical events."Salmons' vivid descriptions successfully depict the fear and uncertainty Pompeians must have felt over the eruption of Vesuvius. Craftily written, this mystery is full of absorbing puzzles and characters. Even though the main plot takes place in the present, history intertwines throughout, creating a fascinating look at Pompeii and its people." - Rebecca Roberts, Historical Novels Society