The year is 399 BC, and Rome is poised for greatness. However, its very existence balances on a knife-edge. The Gallic Senones tribe, led by chieftain Brennus, are newly settled in eastern Italy. Ambitious and fierce, they are but a javelin-throw from the nascent republic. The tyrannical Dionysius rules Syracuse with an iron fist. He leads the war against Carthage, but his eyes range across the Mediterranean as he considers future conquests. Under the guiding hand of the great philosopher-statesman Archytas, Taras in southern Italy is reaching the zenith of its glory…