Caligula

Rufus is a young slave apprenticed to an animal trainer who supplies the gladiatorial arena. His gift for handling dangerous creatures brings him to the attention of Caligula, and he is taken into the imperial household as keeper of the emperor’s elephant, Bersheba.

Life at court places Rufus among displays of wealth, cruelty and calculated humiliation, where servants can become witnesses to treason without understanding who controls the plot. As opposition to Caligula gathers around the emperor, Rufus and his gladiator friend Cupido are drawn into a conspiracy in which their value to powerful men offers no protection from punishment.