The book Around the Roman Empire in 480 Days is arranged as a fictional journey through virtually the entire Roman Empire. The aim is to offer readers an easy-to-read description of the ancient Roman Empire in its size and diversity.

The two main characters of the text, Quintus and Sextus, have not been given clear character traits but are mainly used to focus the reader's attention on different places along the journey. At the same time, they are both allowed to react to what they see. In doing so, they help the reader to perhaps empathize with the reality that the two fictional travelers may have experienced during the journey.

The men's journey is believed to take place during the latter part of the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius (he reigned from 138 to 161 AD), i.e. the journey took place sometime in the 150s AD. At that time, the Roman Empire was still at the height of its power. The two travelers themselves would have considered that they traveled in the early 9th century, counting as the Romans did from the foundation of Rome (which they dated to 753 BC).

Images and maps have been included in the text to help understand what the two men experienced on their journey. Obviously, however, the images reflect what can be seen today, not what the travelers saw during their journey. Similarly, the maps presented are the result of modern knowledge. The book has 18 chapters.