The other two books in the series are the eponymous The Centurions which begin the tale of the two brothers and their extended family and Barbarian Princess.

The novel opens with Correus frustrated at serving in a peacetime establishment and requesting transfer to a more active post.

After overseeing the new emperor Titus's games, including a naval fight, Correus' wish is granted as he is sent off to destroy some pirates while his young wife Ygerna has to remain behind to give birth to her baby.

This is complicated by Correus' own off-again, on-again friendship with the German chief and his half-brother Flavius' romance with the widow of that same former chieftain.

The fast-paced conclusion ends with the defeat of the Germans, and the transfer of Correus to a new post in the Roman province of Dacia.