Alexander the Great conquered Greece, Egypt and the Persian Empire in the course of eight years. Although he died at the age of 33, he left behind a legacy that would change the world. For some people, however, life can be very different...

This is the story of two remarkable men, one of whom conquered empires with apparent ease and one of whom struggled with the day-to-day problems of a small provincial town. It is the story of two men whose paths crossed only briefly, but whose encounter changed both their lives—and the course of history. And it is a story which throws an extraordinary new light on the man who became Alexander the Great.