It is A.D. 274. Emperor Lucius Domitius Aurelianus has reunited the Roman Empire and now reigns over the land and sea of half of the inhabited world. Roman citizens and barbarians alike quake before the soldier-emperor who styles himself a living god. Little does Emperor Aurelianus know that a humble slave, a captive German, and the son of a Roman senator are all about to become Christians and that pagan society is soon to be shaken to its foundations.

Senator Poplius' son, Alexamenos, has everything: wealth, power, and health. Nevertheless, he is dissatisfied with the world and everything in it. Life has become pointless, with the futility of death everstanding before him. So it is, until the day a young slave boy saves his life, and Alexamenos finally meets someone nobler and braver than himself: a Christian.

A Trace in the Sand is a novel for young people inspired by the "Palatine Crucifix," an archeological find from third-century Rome. It is a collaborative work by Orthodox Christians in Greece, where it has gone through seven editions and has become a beloved classic of spiritual literature.