Nicole Gunther

Nicole Gunther-Perrin was a divorced single-mother lawyer living in Los Angeles. Tired with her life in the 20th-century, dealing with employers who are openly sexist albeit a veneer of politeness, trying look after children who miss their babaysitter and losing money fast due to aforementioned sexist employers, one day she wished she lived in the days of Ancient Rome, since she thought life then was much easier.

Two gods, mounted a plaque bought back from a tour of the ruins of ancient Carnuntum, hear her wish and actually send her back to ancient Carnuntum, in the body of a distant ancestress. There she learns that life in those days were not as easy as she thought; slavery taken for granted, no women's rights, no effective medicine or clean medical practices, and no tampons. Over the course of a year, she is forced to revise many of her long-held modern prejudices, including those against alcohol and corporal punishment. She survives epidemic disease and a German invasion; finds that early Christianity was uncomfortably zealous and apocalyptic; and, after a brutal rape by a Roman soldier, discusses the role of government and its duties to abused citizens with Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Eventually, Liber and Libera fulfil her desire to return home, where she wakes from a week-long 'coma' to find that, with her hardwon skills and improved perspective, both her working and family life will improve and she can more easily deal with the stress and difficulties of her modern life. She retains memories which could never be shared with anybody and a thorough knowledge of the Latin languague.