Flavia is a self-proclaimed 'detectrix' (a truth-seeker) with a brilliant mystery solving mind. She hates not knowing things and is quite nosy.
She can also be bossy, impulsive and easily swayed by her emotions. However, she is very kind-hearted, and has a strong sense of justice. Her mother, Myrtilla, died giving birth to twin boys when Flavia was only three. Her father – the sea-captain Marcus Flavius Geminus – is rather absent-minded... when he's home at all. So Flavia is probably the most independent 12-year-old in the Roman Empire.