Pontius Pilate, now an old man, relates the epic story of his long life, from his days as a young man among the noble families of Imperial Rome, through his time as Prefect in Judea among the Jews, and finally to the period of his exile and imprisonment in Gaul. When he is sentenced to death for the crimes of his life by Nero, Pilate is compelled by an emissary from Rome to make a statement in his defense. Hesitant at first, he chooses to tell about his life. Orphaned young, he is raised in a noble Roman family and becomes the close friend and companion of Germanicus, the heir to the throne. As he grows to manhood, he encounters many notable Romans, among them Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius, making friends of some and enemies of others. He meets and marries Claudia, the love of his life. He goes to war, grows ambitious, and becomes intimately acquainted with betrayal and murder. When he is sent by Tiberius to Judea as Prefect, as a reward for his services, he finds great difficulty in governing the Jews. Time and again, his authority is challenged by the Jewish leaders, and he consequently grows cruel and arrogant as he deals with them. It is midway through his tenure in the province that he has his fateful encounter with Jesus, and although he cannot realize it, his actions on that day will define the remainder of his life. Ultimately sent home from Judea in disgrace, Pilate is exiled to Gaul by the Emperor, leaving his ambitions in ruins. He remains in that province for nearly a quarter century working futilely to rebuild his life, and finally comes to realize that it is only his long-past encounter with Jesus that will give his life meaning.