Cecilia tells the story of a young girl's search to define herself in a world rife with social upheaval, religious conflict, and deep foreboding. Cecilia, born into a noble Roman family in the second century A.D., is fifteen years old. She is seeking knowledge with the urgency and awkwardness typical of her age.
But in a society that leaves little room for women to discover their aptitudes, limits, and persuasions, Cecilia must approach this knowledge through her friends and familiars, through a constant and at times painful confrontation with the world around her. She is grasping for light in an age of darkness, searching for answers among conflicting ideologies and beliefs, including the nascent Christian faith that she embraces, but not without her doubts.