The young centurion Cato returns to Rome from Syria with his bride Julia; On the sea voyage he is accompanied by his faithful friend Macron and Julia's father, Senator Sempronius. But on the way they are overtaken by a giant wave caused by an earthquake, and miraculously the surviving travelers find themselves on the island of Crete destroyed by the elements. At the same time, an uprising of rebellious slaves under the leadership of the fugitive gladiator Ajax begins on the island. Cato and Macro cannot leave the rebellious province without establishing order there. But there is another important circumstance: Ajax is their sworn enemy. For it was Cato and Macro who doomed his father, the leader of the sea pirates, to a painful death, and Ajax himself to slavery. And now the former gladiator, having recognized his offenders, is preparing terrible revenge for them...