It is 1330 A.D.  The first he remembers is living outside on the streets of Florence, begging and scheming for food and shelter.  There are rumours that he is a lost child of noblemen, but the only family he remembers are other street urchins.  He takes the name Luca Bastardo.  Desparate for money, one of his friends betrays him and sells him to a brothel.  Luca is trapped there for years, forced to submit to the desires of brutal men.  When he tries to escape, other children are tortured to force him to remain.  As the years go by, it becomes obvious that there is something unearthly about Luca.  Although those around him age normally, Luca remains a youth and is blessed with an eerie beauty.  Finally, he breaks free of the brothel, and earns the undying hatred of the Silvano family, who owned it and who swear that they will find and destroy him. 

Luca spends more than a century wandering from place to place, always searching for his lost family and trying to solve the mystery of his immortality.  He is befriended over the years by many men whose names are still famous centuries later. He becomes a skilled healer and an expert in alchemy and astrology.   Leonardo da Vinci is Luca's apprentice and later his lifelong friend.  He is involved with the Medici family and their intrigues, sometimes as an ally and sometimes as an enemy.  He counts the artists Giotto and Botticelli as his friends.  Though content, he is constantly searching for the woman he knows will make his life complete.  After years of searching, he finds his true love, Maddelena, and is truly happy for the first time. 

Written with lush language that evokes medieval Italy, IMMORTAL is both a stirring romance and a look into medieval Italy.  The reader is swept along on a tide of art, religion, friendships, betrayals and philosophy.  Every scene rings true in historical detail, leaving the reader feeling that they have been transported into the nobility of the times.  The links to religious stories, such as the descendants of Seth, ring true and weave a believable background.  Traci L. Slatton's research of detail is apparent, and she has created a masterpiece.  Those lucky enough to read Immortal are left waiting for Ms. Slatton's next book and hoping that it is as rewarding a read as this one.