Alan Williams

Cleopatra arrives in Rome to pay her respects to Caesar--and to attempt to get her young son legitimized. The Egyptian Queen's arrival intrigues Mark Antony and rankles Atia, who barely tolerates her new rival and Servilia during a fete. Called off a grisly mission at the last minute, Timon returns home to find his brother Levi has unexpectedly arrived from Jerusalem, his disdain for all things Roman intact. Meanwhile, Erastes' death has plunged the Aventine Collegium, and Rome's river commerce, into chaos. In an effort to restore order, Mark Antony orders Vorenus to assume Erastes' captaincy, and he and Pullo bully the warring gangs into an uneasy truce. Frustrated by Mark Antony in his attempt to secure his inheritance, Octavian takes out a loan to pay off Caesar's promise to the people, angering his mother and especially Mark Antony, who refuses the boy's offer of a power-sharing strategic alliance. The confrontation leads to Octavian leaving Rome.

Brutus and Cassius see their military advantage vanish in the wake of Octavian's new alliance with Mark Antony. In Rome, Vorenus receives orders to execute scores of Rome's elite, dividing the task among the Collegium's gang captains. Cicero attempts to warn Brutus of his army's danger, but is foiled by the arrival of Pullo at his villa. Mark Antony adds a few names to the list of condemned, as does Atia; Octavia and Vorena the Elder find themselves enchanted by unlikely suitors; Eirene shares some domestic news with Pullo; Levi and Timon precipitate a synagogue melee; and Atia gets Octavia to reveal a secret as Octavian heads out of Rome. On the plains of Philippi, two armies clash, with the future of Rome at stake.

Rome is facing a dire shortage of grain, forcing Octavian to barter with Mark Antony to get new shipments sent from Egypt. But instead of agreeing to Octavian's price--money and territory--Mark Antony flatly turns him down, pointing towards an inevitable conflict between the two former allies and, perhaps, Vorenus and Pullo. As a last resort, Octavian sends Atia and Octavia to Alexandria, knowing their reception will most likely be a chilly one. At the Collegium, where Pullo is rationing out grain to increasingly restless Romans, Gaia saves her master from a caged animal's wrath, but can't save herself. After fleeing a deteriorating situation in Egypt, Posca gives Octavian the ammunition he needs to turn the people against Mark Antony, setting in motion the wheels of war.

Octavian proclaims a new era of virtue in Rome, issuing a stern mandate that proves impossible for his family and subordinates to obey. A shipment of gold is mysteriously hijacked while en route to the Roman treasury, casting suspicion everywhere and sending Vorenus on a mission to learn who betrayed whom. In the wake of personal tragedy, Pullo turns his grief into fury at Memmio, Omnipor and their henchmen. After courting an "appropriate" bride named Livia, Octavian turns his attentions to more important matters, issuing to Mark Antony an ultimatum he knows he can't refuse.

As Luther's affection for Jenny grows so does his determination to protect her and help her back on her feet. Baba, however, is determined to keep Luther on a tight leash. To add to Luther's difficulties, he is called in to investigate a man whose brutal and escalating murders seem to have no motive, leaving Jenny alone and vulnerable.