Vespasian has been made Governor of Africa. Nero, Rome's increasingly unpredictable Emperor, orders him to journey with his most trusted men to a far-flung empire in Africa to free 200 Roman citizens who have been enslaved by a desert kingdom. Vespasian hopes to return to Rome a hero and find himself back in favor with Nero. But when he reaches the city, he discovers a slave population on the edge of revolt. It isn't long before tensions spill over...