Archimedes, greatest scientist of the ancient world, is a staunch pacifist living in a time of war. As Carthage invades the Roman heartland, the new king of Syracuse switches his allegiance away from Rome and demands Archimedes build Engines of War for the City's defense against the famed Roman General Marcellus. But Archimedes chooses exile rather than sully his science with the blood of men. It is only after seeing firtshand the vicious destruction of a sister Greek city at the hands of Marcellus that Archimedes realizes that while some things are worth dying for, there are things worth killing for. When he returns to Syracuse, he must reconcile a civil war led by his lover on one side, and his son on the other. Only then is he able to build his engines and defeat the roman invasion. But in the battle, his son becomes a prisoner to Rome. General Marcellus offers Archimedes a means of retrieving him—build Engines of War for Rome. To save his son, Archimedes prepares a final solution, one that goes down in history.