In the deserts of Egypt, slaves stagger across the barren landscape driven by the whips of their overseers. Spartacus works the gold mines. He is "rescued" by the owner of Rome's most successful gladiator school who sees in Spartacus the potential for a mighty warrior. At the school, Spartacus trains to fight for the amusement of Roman citizens. He meets Varinia, a beautiful slave woman. Spartacus can do with Varinia what he wants; he offers his mattress and tunic to her to fend off the cold stone floor. She cannot quite believe that he is not like the other brutal men. As time goes by, Varinia and Spartacus grow closer until he asks her to marry him and he makes a vow to love and protect her until the day he dies.

At a private show to be fought to the death, Spartacus is paired against the brutal Draba who promises no mercy. Although a strong fighter, Spartacus is overwhelmed. When Draba is ready to deliver the fatal blow, he suddenly charges the stands. Before he can kill anyone in the audience, soldiers pour into the arena and spear Draba. That evening, Spartacus tries to make sense of it all. He cannot understand why Draba chose to die rather than kill him. Varinia surmises that rather than live as a beast, Draba chose to die as a man. Something in Spartacus has now changed forever....

Enlisting the aid of the other gladiators, Spartacus starts an uprising. They take over the school - killing their trainers, now they must fight for themselves, for their freedom. Every Gladiator, every woman, every slave surrounds the Roman soldiers who storm the area on the outskirts of the school. The soldiers underestimate the power of the slaves and they carelessly break formation. Spartacus seizes this moment, knowing that no one can fight better man to man than a Gladiator. They quickly slaughter the soldiers.

Word of the slave rebellion returns to the Roman Senate. Two senators, Crassus and Agrippa, with vastly different agendas, jockey for power to determine how best to fight the war. Each man wants to further his own political convictions and their causes - no matter what the cost to the other.

Spartacus has been appointed the leader of the slaves but does not partake in the joyous celebratory festivities like everyone else. As someone who only worried about himself, he now worries what tomorrow and the next day will bring. How will he feed and clothe the thousands that are under his charge now? How will he hold together the disparate group of different nationalities? Is their common goal of freedon enough? But more importantly, how will they survive with thousands of Romans on the road blocking their only escape? In an ingenious move, Spartacus is able to outwit his Roman pursuers. The Senate hears about the bloody battle from the one lone survivor, spared so that he could go back to the Senate and tell the story.

The slaves continue to march away from Rome, growing stronger everyday. In Rome, Crassus realizes that Spartacus has organized the slaves from an uprising into an army. The war takes it's toll on the Roman Republic which finds itself outmanuvered and outflanked on the battlefield. By playing on people's fears and appealing to the war-hawks, Crassus gets the better of rival Agrippa and finds himself leading the Romans against Spartacus. Agrippa's populist view of Rome is slowly giving way to the aristocratic regime that Crassus desires.

Pursued by the Roman military machine in battle after battle, Spartacus' men and women are themselves weary. Spartacus sees the seams of his group come apart. One faction wants to turn and fight the Romans but Spartacus only wants freedom. In this power struggle over strategy, the Gauls split off. Without the support of the blood-thirsty Gauls, Spartacus' army is not as powerful.

The men prepare for what they know will be their final fight. They will most likely die. Spartacus has made peace with it and makes Varinia promise that she will live to tell their story. Spartacus leads his troops into battle. While her husband fights for his life, Varinia brings their child into the world - a son who will carry his father's name. Spartacus is overtaken by soldiers who surround him. As Varinia is about to be killed, Crassus enters and spares her life. All the prisoners are crucified; more than 6,000 people stretching out on the road leading to Rome.

Unable to convert his victory to a position in higher office, Crassus reluctantly shares shares his new title, a politically astute move that keeps Agrippa's agenda off the table. Trapped in Crassus' home, Varinia refuses to let her love for Spartacus die. In despair over the brutal state of his country and politically dead, Agrippa frees Varinia and his slaves in one final defiant moment before killing himself. Varinia flees to the countryside where she raises her child, vowing never to forget their valiant struggle for freedom.

James Frain stars as David in Spartacus, a four-hour original miniseries based on Howard Fast's acclaimed novel of the same name.

Frain was born in Leeds, Yorkshire and raised in Essex, England. He received a degree in drama from the University of East Anglia and went on to [study at] London's Central School of Speech and Drama. There, he was discovered by Sir Richard Attenborough, who directed him in Shadowlands (1993), his feature film debut.

Frain then went on to portray several memorable roles, notably as Kenny in Nothing Personal (1995), Alvaro de la Quadro in Elizabeth (1998), and Daniel Barenboim in Hilary and Jackie (1998). In the following two years, James entered more prominently into the film industry, appearing in Istvan Szabo's Sunshine (1999), Julie Taymor's Titus (1999) and Where the Heart Is (2000) opposite Natalie Portman, among others. In addition to his screen work, Frain boasts an impressive theatrical resume, appearing in productions with the Royal Court Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company.