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The year is 44 BC. The Roman Republic, or what remains of it, is in turmoil after the assassination of Julius Caesar. Strong men vie for supremacy in the vacuum created by Caesar's death. Marcus Antonius, Marcus Lepidus, and Octavius Caesar form a ruling junta known as the Triumvirate. They are pitted against the assassins of Caesar, who call themselves the Liberators. Far to the north on the German frontier, an obscure tribe raids the Roman province of Gaul. Meet Alderic, a towering young man out to prove himself on his first raid with the veteran warriors. A cohort of Roman legionnaires is waiting to ambush the German raiders. It ends devastatingly for the Germans. Most are killed, but a few, including Alderic, survive. He is spared execution and sold to a gladiatorial school in Rome. Alderic's fate is intertwined with the Roman power struggle. In a series of improbable events, he is forced to flee Rome with the Triumvirate's men in hot pursuit. Alderic heads to northern Italy, hoping to evade the long reach of Rome. Here, he accidentally stumbles into a Roman army encampment, which is eager for new recruits to fill the ranks for the upcoming civil war. Alderic unwittingly enlists in the Fifteenth legion. He is now Artorus, no longer known as Alderic. Soon, he finds himself heading toward Greece with his newfound comrades-in-arms to fight for the Triumvirate, the very forces that tried to kill him just months ago. The two armies clash on the plains of Philippi. Alderic not only finds an implausible destiny but shapes the future of the Roman Empire.