Hard times have come for the Empire. The civil war threatens to split the country into pieces, destroy it in the flames of mutual hostility and struggle for power. The demon emperor, as many years ago, is forced to prove his right to the throne with the power of his weapons, the power of his armies, his cruelty and will. One of his comrades becomes Sergei, a former prisoner, a former gladiator, who once hated the one for whom he must now be ready to give his life at any moment. In this game of other people's interests, he will have to carry out the most difficult assignments, answer with his own head for the result, lead a large detachment, take part in battles and hope that the future will give him life.