Herod, his brothers, and Nicolaus cross arid land to Avdat. The trip is perilous, and they have a run-in with local Bedouins. Along the coast road, Antipater, Cypros and Salome meet high priest Hyrcanus. With him is Malichus, who has sinister motives. Together, the group goes to meet Cassius, Roman ruler of the east. In tarsus, Cleopatra and her sister Arsinoë are met by Marc Antony. Fatefully, Antony and Cleopatra are soon in each other's arms.

SYNOPSIS:

Cleopatraand Arsinoë would strangle each other if not for restraints of palace guards. Aboard Cleopatra’s royal vessel, they arrive at Tarsus the morning after a bloody battle with the pirates that had held Arsinoë hostage. That fateful morning, they unexpectedly find themselves in the company of Marc Antony, who has sailed from Italy in record time. Both parties are surprised to see each other in such a remote corner of the Aegean. Invited on board Antony’s ship, Cleopatra explains why she and her sister were quarreling when he arrived. Seeing that Arsinoë’s escape is a violation, he agrees Cleopatra should again imprison her in Ephesus. As they talk, they’re both drinking wine, and soon Antony and Cleopatra are giggly drunk. They end up in each other's arms, and succumb to love-making. The hook is in, and Antony’s life would never be the same thereafter.

In the Negev Herod and his siblings and Nicolaus have spent hours riding across the wastelands. They’re to deliver a written message to the magistrate at Avdat, aimed at preventing a rebellion by the Nabatean Arabs. They’re also ferrying a dozen camels for a man who recently threatened them. In these odd circumstances, Herod continues to relate to Nicolaus the story of his own fateful meeting with Cleopatra (although their courtship didn’t consummate with sex, nor move as quickly as her relationship with either Caesar or Antony). Nicolaus and Herod drift behind his brothers, who are well ahead of them on the dusty road. Herod cuts off the narrative having indicated that he fulfilled his task: safely delivering Cleopatra and Arsinoë to the Decapolis. He’s greatly pained in revisiting the emotions of that brief but memorable time; soon he’d be fighting the army of Cleopatra’s brother in the streets and alleys of Alexandria on behalf of Julius Caesar. This is the next bit of his personal history Herod will share with Nicolaus.

No sooner had he finished the tale, when the horse of his brother Pherorasbolts over a ridge ahead, with no rider. As it charges towards them at full gallop, they see the three camels Pheroras had been leading (begrudgingly!) are running amok. they regain control of the horse and two camels, but the other camel is captured by Bedouin shepherds camped near the road. Herod confronts them, demanding the return of their animal. Before a fight breaks out, Phasael rides up and calms matters. They discover the shepherds are from the same tribe as their mother Cypros – for whom the Bedouin have great respect. The camel is returned, and the situation de-escalates. Once arrived in Avdat, the camels are delivered and the men all enjoy a swim at a desert spring after a long day of riding. Their parents and sister Salomeare on the coast road from Gaza to Ascalon. There they meet with Hyrcanus – the High Priest of the Jerusalem Temple, and uncle of the deranged Antigonus. Hyrcanus informs them that their new master Cassiushas requested an audience with them and Antipater’s sons. He reasons that the urgent meeting will be for the extraction of a large tribute. They send a messenger on horseback to Avdat to call Herod and his brothers to meet Cassius and pay their shares.