Sodom and Gomorrah

The twin cities prosper from their vast salt deposits, mined by slaves. The wealthy citizens revel in luxury and use slaves for servants and violent entertainments. This decadent society sets the stage for looming conflict between neighbors.

Prince Astaroth orders Tamar to deliver a message to the Elamite king, hoping to overthrow Queen Bera. Tamar returns from her desert meeting and is captured by a Sodomite patrol. Bera interrogates her, but Tamar refuses to name her co-conspirator, and Tamar and her two young sisters are killed.

Lot leads his family and a Hebrew tribe through the desert, seeking a permanent home along the River Jordan. The Hebrews are shown as pious and austere, in stark contrast to Sodom's indulgence. Their exodus frames the moral tension between two ways of life.

Lot meets Ildith, the chief of the Queen's body slaves, who travels in a royal litter. She explains her status as a slave who serves the queen; Lot declares that owning slaves is evil. Their encounter marks the start of a complicated bond.

Lot negotiates the use of land on one side of the Jordan with Queen Bera, promising grain and defense. In an unexpected twist, Bera gives Lot Ildith and allows her to leave, though Ildith does not want to abandon the queen. Astaroth is disgusted by the terms.

Lot and Ildith fall in love and plan to marry. Shuah and Astaroth begin a secret affair; Maleb and Ishmael also plan marriages. The air of romance and intrigue foreshadows conflicts within both communities.

Ildith's wedding to Lot is interrupted by an Elamite attack. Hebrew farmers and Sodomite soldiers fight valiantly but are nearly defeated. In desperation, Lot orders the dam broken, and the flood reveals the salt deposit that will anchor a future alliance between Hebrews and Sodom.

The flood reveals a vast salt deposit at the Hebrew camp. Lot envisions a future where Hebrews can join Sodom by selling salt, changing their relations. This discovery cements a new economic alliance between the two peoples.

Some time later, Lot and Ildith live in luxury and are revered by both Hebrews and Sodomites. Ishmael pushes for freeing the mine slaves; his plan is rejected as the Hebrews close their doors and the slaves are recaptured. Lot becomes the minister of justice and must sentence Ishmael.

Ishmael's rebellion is complicated by Astaroth, who accuses Lot of sleeping with both daughters and Ildith. In anger, Lot kills Astaroth. The personal betrayals pull Lot deeper into the city’s corrupt power dynamics.

Queen Bera's plot becomes clear: she used the Hebrews to destroy the Elamite threat and manipulated Lot to rid her sister. Lot is imprisoned as the scheme unfolds. The city’s intrigue tightens around his fate.

Two angels appear to tell Lot that God is displeased with the twin cities and will destroy them. Lot pleads for ten righteous citizens to depart with him, and the angels free Lot and Ishmael from prison. They warn that anyone leaving Sodom who looks back will be struck down.

As the Hebrews and recaptured slaves depart, many slaves are tortured to death on the wheel. Queen Bera proclaims that the entertainment has only begun. Lot’s daughters initially refuse to leave, but Ildith convinces them to depart; Shuah reluctantly follows, hoping to see Lot suffer.

God destroys Sodom with earthquakes and fire while many flee in chaos. Queen Bera and Orphea are killed as collapsing pillars seal the city’s doom. The Sodomites’ selfishness guarantees their end as the modern day metropolis burns away.

Ildith, torn between love for Lot and belief in his God, looks back at Sodom and is turned into a pillar of salt. Lot collapses in grief, but Maleb and Shuah comfort him. The Hebrews, led by Lot, wander the desert once more in search of a new home.