The Eagle's Conquest is a 2001 novel by Simon Scarrow, about the Roman invasion of Britain in 43 AD. It is the second book in the Eagles of the Empire series. Plot summary The book opens immediately after the events of Under the Eagle, with the troops relaxing and watching prisoners of war fight to the death in a makeshift arena. Optio Cato is bequeathed an ivory-hilted sword by the chief centurion, Bestia, who was mortally wounded in the British ambush and respected Cato for his tenacity. Meanwhile, the legate of the Second Legion, Vespasian, worries about his wife Flavia back in Rome, whom he has learned has connections to "The Liberators", a group of conspirators who want the feeble-minded Emperor Claudius out of power. Soon afterwards the Legion moves off again, heading to the River Meadway (present-day Medway river, in Kent). As the Britons under Caratacus have heavily fortified the opposite bank, Macro and Cato are ordered to scout ahead for a ford upstream. Cato finds one, and the next day the attack goes in. The Ninth Legion, supported by artillery fire from triremes on the river, crosses and assault the enemy ramparts. After sustaining heavy losses, the attack falters, and only the Second Legion's intervention saves the day. Using the ford upstream, the legionaries are able to surprise the Britons and attack them from behind, overrunning their encampment; Cato is badly burned when he accidentally spills a cauldron of boiling water over himself. While recuperating, he strikes up a friendship with the North African surgeon, a Carthaginian called Nisus. They discover that the lead shot the British were using in their slings came from the Legion's stores, indicating there is a traitor placed high in the army command, supplying the British with arms in an attempt to undermine the campaign. Over the next few days, the British are pushed back to the North Kent marshes, on the banks of the Tamesis river. The Second Legion is ordered to clear the southern bank in preparation for a crossing, but as twilight approaches, the Legion is scattered and lost in the marshes. Macro's unit, with Cato in tow, is ambushed by a war band; Macro holds the Britons at bay while Cato and a handful of men escape by boat. When the roll-call is held, Macro is declared missing, presumed dead. Cato, in a fit of anguish, volunteers to be