While in the town marketplace one day, Lyla (Lucy Lawless), Deric's beautiful young wife, is taunted by a couple of bigoted vendors who are openly opposed to her marriage to a Centaur. Deric (Peter Muller) arrives to find Lyla being harassed by the unsavory Merkus (Neil Holt) and seizing the bully by the throat, he overpowers and humiliates him. Merkus, incensed by the confrontation, plots his revenge while Deric goes off to buy food in the neighboring village. That evening, a band of roughnecks led by Merkus and Jakar (Jon Brazier) don animal masks and ride out to Deric's house brandishing torches. Sensing disaster, Lyla tells her young son Kefor (James Croft) to run and hide in the woods before she falls victim to the wild-eyed Merkus. Deric returns from his errands in time to see his entire home engulfed in flames. Devastated, he rushes into the blazing house hoping to save his loved ones.
Meanwhile Hercules, on his way to help the couple having heard of their troubles, runs into Salmoneus (Robert Trebor), who insists on tagging along. When the two reach Deric's house, they are horrified to find almost everything in ashes. Scanning the ruins, Hercules sees a odd-looking symbol scrawled on a charred block of wall, which he later notices tatooed on the wrist of a vendor named Cletis (Chris Bailey). Inquiring about the tatoo, Hercules finds himself surrounded by Merkus and his boys, who make no secret of their disdain for centaurs and their lack of sympathy for Lyla and Deric's misfortune. A bloody fight is prevented only by the arrival of Lyla's sister Leuriphone (Rose Dube), who tells Hercules and Salmoneus the tragic story of her sister and brother-in-law's mistreatment by the Cretans -- a mean-spirited bunch of locals marked by the strange tatoo, who are dedicated to preserving "Athenian purity." Agonizing over the deaths of his friends and their three year-old son Kefor (James Croft), Hercules vows that justice will be done.
Stopping in at the decidedly unfriendly local tavern that night, Hercules and Salmoneus are stunned by the sudden appearance of Deric, who is still very much alive. Dumping the lifeless body of Cletis in the doorway, Deric warns those inside that others will also die for the murder of his wife. After Deric flees, Merkus and Jakar inflame the townspeople by spreading the lie that Deric has gone berserk, killed his own family and burned his own house.
They organize a posse and set out to capture him, accompanied by Hercules and Salmoneus who want to make sure he's brought back alive. When Deric is spotted on a hilltop, Hercules pleads with him to surrender but he refuses, claiming he killed Cletis in self-defense. Merkus sneaks up to attack, but finds he's no match for the Centaur and is mortally wounded. The posse is tricked into following several false trails, but Hercules and Salmoneus discover Deric and baby Kefor's hideout. Hercules is finally able to persuade his friend to surrender for the sake of his child and, leaving Kefor in Salmoneus' care, the centaur turns himself over to the magistrate Tersius (Norman Forsey), claiming self-defense in the deaths of both Cletis and Merkus.
When Demicles (Kelson Henderson), one of Merkus' men, learns that the Centaur is in custody, he alerts Jakar and Sepsus (Andrew Kovacevich) who become worried about being implicated in Lyla's death. Finding Deric's hideout, the two overpower Salmoneus, kidnap Kefor, and send word to Deric in prison that he must confess to murdering Cletis in order to save his son's life. Deric's luck changes, however, when Demicles -- the most sympathetic of the Cretans -- secretly admits to Hercules that he was part of Merkus' gang the night of the fire. Insisting that he and his cohorts simply wanted to give the family a good scare, he is horrified and ashamed when he learns that Merkus actually murdered Lyla in cold blood. As Hercules sets out to rescue Kefor from the kidnappers, Jakar whips the town locals into a lynch mob. Seizing Deric from his cell, they begin stoning him until Hercules arrives. After a fierce battle, Deric regains his freedom, his son, and -- astonishingly -- his beloved Lyla, whom Zeus has brought back to life.
Starring: Kevin Sorbo (Hercules)
Guest Starring: Robert Trebor (Salmoneus), Peter Muller (Deric), Jon Brazier (Jakar), Kelson Henderson (Demicles), Lucy Lawless (Lyla), James Croft (Kefor), Rose Dube (Leuriphone), Chris Bailey (Cletis), Andrew Kovacevich (Sepsus), Neil Holt (Merkus), Norman Forsey (Tersius), Irene Drake (Karros), Damien Lay (Neighbor's Son), Campbell Rouselle (Cretan #1)
Written by Robert Bielak
Directed by Bruce Seth Green
Trivia: In this episode, we learn Salmoneus had previously attended a self-actualization seminar held by a man known as Robertis Tonicles. In his never-ending quest to make a fast dinar, Salmoneus decides he's going to share his learnings with others for a modest fee.