Spartacus has already done the impossible. Not only has he escaped from slavery, he and his seconds have created a mighty slave army that has challenged Rome and defeated the armies of three praetors, two consuls, and one proconsul. On the plain of the River Po, in modern Northern Italy, Spartacus has defeated Gaius Cassius Longinus, proconsul and general of an army of two legions. Now the road home lies before them-- to Thrace for Spartacus, and to Gaul for his seconds-in-command, Castus and Gannicus.