It is 162 AD. Marcus Aurelius inherits the empire at its peak. Peace and prosperity have reigned for a hundred years, and the imperial boundaries stretch from the Irish Sea to the sands of Syria. But the greater Rome grows, the bigger a target she becomes. War breaks out on two fronts - in the east and in the north - just as plague takes a terrible toll on the Empire's population. Marcus Aurelius would rather stay home and write about philosophy, but duty dictates that he save the empire. His German wars are a prolonged, bloody quagmire that seem to stretch on without end. But with his death, his long dream of conquering the German lands is lost, when his son, Commodus, fails to pursue the mission, preferring the luxurious life in Rome to the dangerous life of a soldier.