No-one in the bustling city of Pompeii worries when the ground trembles beneath their feet. They figure that the beast under the mountain Vesuvius, high above the city, wakes up angry sometimes–and always goes back to sleep. But Marcus is afraid. He knows something is terribly wrong—and his father, who trusts science more than mythical beasts, agrees. Although they themselves are trying to flee a dangerous man, they want to warn others about the mountain. But who will believe Marcus, a young slave boy, and his father? When Vesuvius explodes into a huge cloud of ash and rocks that fall from the sky like rain, will they have time to escape—and survive the epic destruction of Pompeii?