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One life of freedom is worth a thousand in fetters.

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.