Italy, ~73-71 B.C.

The gladiatorial school of Vatia is in ruins, and the rebels now maraud the countryside as they plot the next move. Rome is livid at the news of slaves escaping but sees no reason to send its legions—after all, how long would these depraved animals survive, and what famed commander worth his name would take up the pursuit of lowly men?

But Gaius Claudius Glaber, a new praetor with a failed investment in Vatia's school and a vested interest in capturing the slaves for a rich profit, is gathering mercenaries to destroy Spartacus' rebel holdout on the great mountain Vesuvius.

What begins as an assault to quickly subdue inferior men with supposedly low military skill is about to turn into a nightmare for the Romans, and they will learn what it means to take on an army of the desperate, for whom death by the sword is preferable to servitude for life, led by a man who fears none and whose brilliance outshines Rome’s best. And when the dust settles and blood dries on the earth, history will be written, and the name of Spartacus will be etched on the granite of great stories.

Thrace, 83 B.C.

Spartacus, son of a Maedi chief, is about to lead a band of his men into the heart of an enemy tribe to steal the idol of their sacred god Sabazios. He hopes that this daring incursion will make him worthy in his father's eyes and the tribe that sees him more a philosopher than a warrior.

When this desecration brings savage retribution to his doorsteps, Spartacus does what no Maedi man would dream of doing, bringing dishonor to himself and his tribe. And now, the only way to douse the flames of shame and rage is by joining a Roman auxiliary that is preparing to destroy his enemy.

But the offended gods have different plans.

Fighting under a corrupt centurion, saddled with quarreling companions, and on a brutal march to wage war for a brilliant general with grand ambitions, Spartacus will learn what it means to be a skilled soldier, a warrior, and above all, a leader, even as he battles powerful forces that are about to put him on a bloody path to his fateful destiny.

Capua, 75-73 B.C.

Captured and sold off as a slave, Spartacus is now at Lentulus Vatia's training school in Capua, preparing for a gladiator's harsh and brutal life. The trainers tell him of glory in combat and the chance to earn freedom. They speak of redemption through bravery and adulation through exemplary performance. The men live in perpetual hope built on a house of false promises.

But the winds of gladiatorial sports are shifting, and the signs are ominous. The people demand more, and the powers are only too glad to oblige. The games are now more than a tribute or a show--they are a means to power--and becoming the principal form of cruel and vicious entertainment. And in this relentless evolution, the fighters are just the living dead to be bled on the sands of the arena, and their corpses dragged away.

Even as he masters the sport and survives the bloody fights, Spartacus must find ways to convince his fellow men that there is no honor in dying for someone else's amusement. But his actions are about to pit him against the twisted mind of a vicious master who plots to condemn Spartacus and his wife to a terrible end.