It's the 2nd century BC. King Antiochus of Lower Asia, presumed dead in battle 22 years ago, returns to claim his throne.
But the world has changed: Rome has grown more powerful and now feeds and funds its growing empire with heavy taxes levied on its wealthy Asian provinces. Rome dominates trade across the Mediterranean - much to the resentment of Bithynia and Carthage, whose own empires once rivalled Rome's.
The return of Antiochus could ignite an already simmering region. But Rome - and especially her ambassador to Carthage, Titus Flaminius - has no intention of allowing Antiochus to stand in her way.
