Splendid in her red leather armour and leading thousands of soldiers, Zenobia challenges the king of Persia, the invincible Shapur. She is an expert strategist and a skilful warrior. Using camels, she wins the battle against the armed Persian cavalry, annihilating it and leaving it exposed to the implacable desert sun. At the same moment in Rome, Aurelius, appointed commander-in-chief of the Roman legions, celebrates his marriage to Ulpia with a sumptuous ceremony. He is about to be proclaimed emperor. But the paths of Zenobia and Aurelius are fated to cross. For the ambitious queen will dare the unthinkable: to challenge Rome and its army. With a tragic epilogue.