Mary Sadtler earned a Certificate in Creative Writing and a Degree in Comparative Literature from the University of Kent after her retirement from occupational health nursing. She is an avid walker and, with her author husband, especially enjoyed walking the length of Hadrian's Wall and exploring the traces of Roman occupation in its vicinity. The visit to the Roman fort at nearby Vindolanda was memorable and inspired the story told in this book. The story is fictional, but many of the characters did live at Vindolanda, and played important roles there.