 Hercules and Iolaus help Felicita fight off bandits and repair a wheel on her wagon, then learn she was banished by filthy rich Menus Maxius, who illegally keeps her equally black husband Gladius the gladiator enslaved in Apropus for his arena to Hera s honor, and decide to join her so he can finally see their baby. Hercules sends the mother to the inn and gets him and Iolaus imprisoned on purpose, then learns all sentences are endlessly prolonged hard labor, better conditions are reserved for gladiators. Gladius refuses to believe they have news from Felicita, he was told she died in child-birth so he would stay as champion gladiator, as he was given her as a reward. As Maxius  wife Postera is bored with animal-fights, he introduces duels to the death- still anonymous Hercules against giant Skoros. Hercules s refusal to kill the loser gets him condemned to death, but Maxius s wife Postera rather has him brought and stripped before her; refusing to become her  private  slave, he s whipped and incarcerated and told he s to be held to his word he would rather sleep with beasts then share her bed. Next eager Turkos is to be pitted against Gladius, but as he s still too badly wounded from a bear-fight, noble Leutis knocks him out and voluntarily takes his place, wins but also refuses to kill, so Protera has both executed on the spot. Next Iolaus is kept hostage to make Hercules fight Gladius, whose wife and son are otherwise to return to the worst slavish abuse, too much for the gladiator to risk keeping his word not to fight, until he has Hercules at sword-point...