"The Helvetian Affair" presents the second installment of a memoir written by a retired Roman soldier, Gaius Marius Insubrecus, who served Caesar during his wars in Gaul. As a youth, Insubrecus is caught between two worlds: the heroic myths of his people, the Gah’el, and the harsh realities of their conqueror, Rome. In order to escape assassins sent after him from Rome, Insubrecus hides in the Roman army, right at the time that the new governor, Gaius Iulius Caesar, launches his legions into Gaul to stop an invasion by a fierce and ruthless tribe called the Helvetii. Insubrecus is plunged into a world of violence, intrigue and betrayal, as he tries to serve his new patron, Caesar, and to stay alive, while pursued by Roman cutthroats and Gallic warriors.

In this new novel, Ray Gleason recreates the world of the late Roman Republic to tell the story of Gaius Marius Insubrecus, a young man caught between two worlds, that of Rome and that of Celtic Gaul, as he tries to navigate through war, treachery and intrigue of Caesar’s campaign against the Helvetians.

“Not lyrical, but accurate, Insubrecus. All these stories and reports of Romans, Belgae, Krauts, and whatnot have become a knot I do not have time to unravel, so I’m just going to slice it open!” Caesar announced. “Tomorrow at dawn, this army marches on the Aeduan capital. . .we march on Bibracte!” With these words, Gaius Iulius Caesar sent his army on what most of his officers considered a suicide mission with the Helvetians and their German allies across their line of retreat and the army trapped against the impregnable walls of Bibracte, the fortress-capital of their treacherous Gallic allies, the Aedui.

"The Helvetian Affair" is the second book of the Gaius Marius Chronicle, the memoir of a retired Roman soldier, Gaius Marius Insubrecus, a legionary who fought with Caesar throughout his Gallic campaigns and the Roman civil wars.

"The Helvetian Affair" recounts Insubrecus’ coming of age as a Roman soldier in the legionary camps outside the city of Aquileia, and serving his patron, Caesar, as he conducts a lightening campaign to prevent the fierce and ruthless attempt by the Helvetii to conquer Celtic Gaul and threaten the Roman province.

The narrative recreates a colorful and culturally complex portrait of ancient northern Italy and the Rhone valley, as Romans, Celts and Germans struggle for supremacy in the hills and dark forests of western Gaul.