He was Rome's bravest statesman, an aristocratic soldier who slept on the ground with his troops, a Stoic philosopher and staunch defender of sacred Roman tradition who inspired early Christianity: This is the story of Marcus Porcius Cato. Cato's life is a gripping tale rich with resonances for our own turbulent politics. Cato grappled with home-grown terrorists, a public and private debt crisis, a yawning gap between rich and poor, and a fractious ruling class whose lives took on the dimensions of soap opera. This is the story of this uncompromising man's formation in a time of crisis and his lifelong battle to save the Republic.