A hero will fall. An emperor will rise.Mark Antony is Caesar's successor, victor over Caesar's murderers Brutus and Cassius, and the most powerful man in the world. Yet he cannot be complacent. Octavian, Caesar's heir, is ambitious, intelligent and ruthless. Antony must prove himself with a great military victory to hold onto his position, and marches against Rome's old foe: the Parthian empire. But this is a formidable opponent; the bones of many legions lie on the battlefields of the East. And with the beguiling Cleopatra distracting him, can Antony come out on top?Antony's final years are a whirlwind of shifting alliances, betrayals and war. In the end, the Battle of Actium will decide the fate of the empire, and set the course of history for the next two thousand years. From Alexandria to Actium, this clash established a dynasty and struck down one of Rome's greatest heroes.