In the summer of 9 CE, Publius Varus, the Roman governor of Germania, and Lucius Tullus, a centurion garrisoned on the Rhine, march east with three legions. As they prepare to return to their winter quarters, they are lured off the road and ambushed by German warriors.

The Germans are led by Arminius, a chieftain who is a trusted ally of Rome - and a man who has been secretly planning to betray the empire since childhood.

Trapping Varus' legionaries between a hillside and a marsh, and thereby preventing them from forming up or using their artillery, Arminius and his warriors wreak a terrible slaughter.

The Roman defeat is overwhelming, but it is not until the third day of the massacre that the scale of Arminius' victory becomes clear. Three legions, upwards of fourteen thousand men have been annihilated, and three treasured Eagle standards have been lost. Just a few hundred legionaries, including Tullus, manage to escape.

Nor is the survivors' ordeal over. Pursued to the last Roman fort east of the Rhine, they are besieged by thousands of bloodthirsty tribesmen. Only the gods can save them now ...