Carthage Must Be Destroyed In Color:
Daniel Teran has finished the book cover for Carthage Must Be Destroyed —- in color. Cato stands in the Roman Senate addressing the populace. Cato is soon to be a major character in the upcoming historical thriller Carthage Must Be Destroyed by Dora Benley.
Cato the Elder ends every speech in the Roman Senate with the words, “Carthage must be destroyed.” He is a survivor of the Second Punic War fifty years before when Hannibal won the Battle of Cannae and almost marched on Rome itself. Cato reminds the Romans that Carthage has finished paying its war reparations to Rome and is now refurbishing its navy. It could sail against them again just as Hannibal himself had crossed the Alps a generation before.
The son of another senator, Gaius Antonius, is picked by Cato to follow him to Carthage to assess the situation. Gaius Antonius sketches the harbor. His eyes light on a ship that is being built. It looks like the finest of its fleet.
When Cato orders the Carthaginians to send one hundred hostages picked from the youth of the noble families of Carthage to Rome to be kept at his latifundia estate, the Princess Tanit arrives. She tries to charm everyone —- for awhile. But soon she and the sketches and maps that Gaius Antonius drew suddenly disappear along with all the hostages.
This sets off a multi-nation chase to get the drawings and maps back again. Cato wants to show the drawing of the fine naval vessel and the threats it represents to the Roman Senate. They are on the verge of declaring war. Cato and Gaius Antonius want to push the Roman Senate and people over the edge. Will they make it in time, or will the Carthaginians gain an advantage? Will Princess Tanit and her cohorts escape, or will they get their just deserts?