Years after the Second Punic War, Scipio Africanus finds himself generally unliked, despite his defeat of Hannibal Barca. He and his brother, Scipio Asiaticus, are accused by Marcus Porcius Cato of the theft of 500 talents intended for Rome.

A criminal (Giuliano Gemma) seeks vengeance when his double-dealing brother (Klaus Kinski) steals his jewels and mutilates his shooting hand.