With Erastes Fulmen dead - killed by Vorenus - the Aventine tavern is up for grabs. Rival gangs have taken to the streets in a struggle for control, stabbing each other in the open markets.

Having surrendered to his grief over Niobe’s death, Vorenus refuses to leave his bed, staring catatonically at the head of Erastes Fulmen, still rotting in a corner. Pullo tries to talk Vorenus into a new start, noting the mourning period has ended, but Vorenus won't hear of it.

Now Consul of Rome, Mark Antony is preparing for the arrival of Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, to Atia’s great annoyance. To assuage her jealousy, Antony describes the woman as a "dark, skinny little thing who talks too much”. Octavian interrupts to press him about the money Caesar left him, but Antony puts him off with talk of paperwork and lawyers.

Cleopatra is far more subdued than she was four years earlier, which puzzles Mark Antony, whom she doesn't recall meeting. She's in mourning over Caesar, she tells him, as he was "like a husband to me”. Antony scoffs. "Roman Consul, Egyptian wife? Wouldn't do.”

The Queen's counsel, Charmian, begins negotiations: the Consul of Rome will guarantee armies to protect her throne in exchange for the value of her grain shipments. Posca ups the price, and they settle on an amount. But the Queen has one more issue to put on the table - her four-year-old son Caesarion, who Caesar may have fathered. She wants a public declaration of the boy's paternity, "simply for his happiness”. With a lecherous grin, Antony attempts to privately negotiate something in return, earning himself a fierce slap.

At the Basilica, an irritated Antony receives petitioners. A representative of the merchants complains that the violence in the Aventine is killing commerce. Cicero jumps in, warning that whoever controls the Aventine controls the docks and the grain supply. And if the violence spreads, the whole city will descend into chaos and famine. Antony presented Cicero with a list of candidates for next year's elections, claiming Posca found them among Caesar's papers. "Ah. Another lucky find," Cicero smirks, claiming the list contains every scoundrel in the city who paid off Posca. After a threat from Antony, Cicero agrees to endorse them, but only if they cross off the worst of the lot.

At a loss with Vorenus, Pullo seeks out the new Consul of Rome. Mark Antony accompanies him back to the cursed villa, jarring his former soldier out of his funk. He reprimands Vorenus harshly, accusing him of letting "our great father die" and starting a war in the Aventine by killing Erastes. Vorenus insists he would kill himself, but the god Dis is his master; and it’s up to him when he dies. "Dis is not your master. I am your master," Antony responds, and despite Vorenus's protests, he insists that no man is beyond redemption, "not even you”.

As Atia prepares to host a party for the Egyptians, Octavian spots Timon and his henchmen. They are armed for battle, and he confronts his mother about her latest plot, which as he suspects, involves killing Servilia. "There is a truce, ratified by priests," he tells his mother. "The political situation is extremely delicate. Her death would throw the Republic into an uproar”. When he threatens to go to Mark Antony, Atia stops him, then sends Timon and his men away, furious with her impudent son.

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