After being taken from her land alongside her brother and brought to Rome as slaves, her brother assists in her escape before she can be sold at the brothels, leaving him behind to be sent to fight in the coliseum for the entertainment of the masses. When she gains word of his first fight coming up, she seeks him out knowing he will not survive the fight. Her brother had always been ill, ever since he was a small child, and would never be able to survive the stress a battle would put on him.

To protect him, and knowing he is too weak to fight against her, she takes him out of the holding cell and takes his place in battle, hiding her gender under tight cloths and loose rags. Due to her brother's illness, he was always slender, making it easier for her to hide as him once her helmet was adorned.

The emperor and his son are both impressed by the skill of the fighter as she narrowly wins her first battle. Each battle to come, she grows stronger and more brutal. However, soon, she knows she is no longer battling to protect her brother, as he has succumb to his illness. Due to her never speaking, she has been nicknamed 'The Mute Warrior'.

After an intense battle in the arena for the Emperor and his family, the emperor's son is dared by his friends to attempt to kill the gladiator after the match, and, believing he has the power (as he too is well trained) follows him. He waits until the gladiator has been allowed into a chamber to wash and breaks in the door, only to be faced with reality told only by the very scars caused in battle. The gladiator is a woman...