In Rome, the geographer Cartographus informs Julius Caesar of the reported existence of the griffin, a beast that is half-eagle and half-lion with horse's ears, located in Sarmatian territory in the remote eastern lands of Barbaricum. The Romans have captured a Sarmatian Amazon woman, Kalashnikova, who cautions against attempting to capture the griffin. Her warning is deliberately misinterpreted by Cartographus and goes unheeded. Caesar deploys an expedition of Roman soldiers to locate and capture the griffin, which he intends to display at the circus in Rome in an effort to boost his popularity.