As a result of a short-term failure of onboard systems, the SOYuZ-TM-M-4 spacecraft lands in the third century from the Nativity of Christ. Two Russian cosmonauts are among the barbarians. The Romans considered them bloodthirsty savages, but they themselves called themselves Glorious and appreciated luck in the leaders above their strength. In one of the battles, the eldest of the cosmonauts, Lieutenant Colonel Cherepanov, is taken prisoner, and his friend is left face to face with a strange world. Mind, composure and luck help him survive, earn the respect of the barbarians and even become one of the leaders of the future conquerors of Rome.... Meanwhile, Lieutenant Colonel Cherepanov, together with his friend, the first centurion Honorius Plavt Aptus, having escaped from barbarian captivity, having overcome hundreds of kilometers of enemy territory, go to the Danube, the border of the Great Roman Empire.