It is A.D. 50, and the land of Britannia has been left alone since the Roman conquest one hundred years earlier. When the British tribes begin to rebel, Rome sends its armies to re-conquer the tribes through force, taking captives from all across the land to sell as slaves. Among the enslaved are Alana, a brave young woman pulled from all she holds dear, and Regan, a bold young warrior whose reckless conduct provokes the wrath of his captors, resulting in a severe beating that leaves him barely alive. Regan's actions impel Alana to plead for his life before Valerius, an honest young Roman Officer, who regrets making an example of Regan. The lives of Alana, Regan, and Valerius are intertwined as they seek to find their way in a contradictory world of civility and violence. Will the new religion spreading throughout the Roman Empire bring peace or will it cause even more trouble?
Attracted to Alana by her moral sense and courage, Valerius attempts to protect her from Rome's inflexible class system but he is unable to help Regan who is forced to fight as a gladiator - for the entertainment of others and for his life.