The Scourge of God — William Dietrich

The year is A.D. 449. Attila, ruler of the savage Huns, has become Europe's most powerful monarch and now is massing his forces to claim half of a crumbling Roman Empire. Under the guise of diplomacy, ambassadors have been sent to Attila's camp, secretly planning to foment unrest and assassination -- and in their company is Jonas, historian, unsuspecting pawn, and skilled swordsman. Taken captive by the Hun leader and perilously enamored of the wild and beautiful Roman prisoner Ilana, Jonas is destined to play a larger part in the coming great events than he ever dared imagine. For a momentous conflict is looming, one that will alter the face of Western civilization, pitting the faltering might of once-great Rome against the terror they call "the Scourge of God."