The 13th novel featuring Marcus Didius Falco finds the Roman P.I. in the midst of a home improve- ment that brings an unwanted ''visitor'' to his bathhouse. Poor Marcus Didius Falco: The two shiftless contractors working on his new Roman bathhouse have left him with a horrible smell emanating from the below-ground furnace....and some gruesome site debris. Meanwhile, the king of the Atrebtes tribe in faraway Britannia is planning his own home improvements. But the spectacular Fishbourne Palace he is building is beset by numerous financial problems....not to mention the ''accidents'' that seem to plague the construction site. Enter P.I. Falco to investigate the scene and make things right. But trouble starts anew when his favorite contractors from Rome appear on the scene, and Falco realizes that someone with murderous intentions is now after him......