The year is 330 B.C. Macedonian Alexander the Great has conquered Asia Minor, but with his armies now far from Athens, supporters of Athenian independence are beginning to agitate and plot against him. The climate is especially dangerous for foreigners, like Aristotle who taught Alexander the Great when he was a teenager, and those suspected of befriending foreigners, like Stephanos. A series of threats persuade the two that they had better leave the mainland for a while. Both find acceptable excuses: Aristotle must transport a sick student home to Rhodes, while Stephanos needs to locate a relative of his bride-to-be, Philomela, to clear up an inheritance dispute.