Marcus a military officer goes to war and is injured and believed to be dead . In his hometown of Pompeii a bad earthquake happpens , and his girlfriend Valeria and her brother Ennius are orphaned . They are sold to Quintus Laronius as slaves , but Laronius is murdered . Marcus and Valeria do all they can to solve the mystery of the murder , with the evil governor Chelidone holding them back with hi 's love for Valeria . They eventually get Tiberius a tribune to save Valeria , Ennius and the other slaves of Quintus Laronius , who are accused of his murder , but the volcano Vesuvius erupts sending ash and pyroclastic flows to Pompeii burying it , Marcus and Valeria , and their friends cause Chelidone to die in the eruption , but they survive
Vesuvius erupts
Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79
Imperium: Pompeii