Medicus (2006)

A financially pressed army doctor in Roman Britain finds that treating people and investigating neglected deaths are difficult to separate. Downie gives Ruso ordinary professional frustrations: poor quarters, hospital hierarchies, money worries and limited time. The relationship with the enslaved Tilla also exposes unequal power behind apparently routine decisions. A good choice for readers who prefer historical detail embedded in a working day. Also published as Ruso and the Disappearing Dancing Girls.