This e-short prequel to The Carthage Chronicles series offers an exclusive look at the romance of archaeologist Lawrence Hastings and Dr. Magdalena Kader­—parents of heroine Dr. Lisbeth Hastings from the upcoming novel Healer of Carthage—and how they stumbled upon a mystery thousands of years old and began the fateful journey to the Cave of the Swimmers.

Before Lawrence Hastings became obsessed with the Cave of the Swimmers and the mysterious disappearances surrounding it, he was just a young archaeologist excavating the Tophet of Roman Carthage. After an embarrassing on-the-job injury, Lawrence meets Magdalena Kader, a beautiful local doctor caught between her loyalty to her father and his traditions and what her heart truly desires.

Can they overcome their vastly different worlds to find something more?