While Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) and Serena (Sam Jenkins) are enjoying their honeymoon, Xena (Lucy Lawless) and Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) learn of their marriage from a couple of boisterous drunks in a roadhouse tavern. When one of them reveals that Hercules gave up his god-given powers to marry Serena, the last of the Golden Hinds, Xena becomes upset. As she and Gabrielle leave the bar, the two "drunks" instantly morph into Ares (Kevin Smith) and Strife (Joel Tobeck). The god of war congratulates his nephew on the evil plan he has put in motion. Meanwhile, Hercules is finding it increasingly hard to adjust to life without his former superhuman strength. When he singlehandedly confronts an entire squad of soldiers to defend Serena's honor one afternoon, he takes a serious beating before Iolaus (Michael Hurst) shows up and joins the fight. With Serena's help, they finally manage to drive the soldiers off, but instead of being grateful for Iolaus' and Serena's help, Hercules lashes out at them, insisting he could have taken care of the situation by himself. As he stalks off, he is followed surreptitiously by Strife, who is obviously responsible for Hercules' angry outburst and pleased by what he has witnessed. When Strife slips away, Hercules seems to come to his senses, almost as if awakening from a dream. Realizing he has hurt his friends, he apologizes.
As Ares and Strife continue to plot the demise of Hercules, the town elders gather to discuss their plans to honor him at the formal dedication of their new irrigation system. An agitator soon turns the crowd against the idea, however, claiming that the fight between Hercules and the soldiers that afternoon was indicative of the kind of trouble they can expect if the son of Zeus remains in their community. A grinning Strife looks on as the elders agree to ask Hercules to leave town. That night, Strife causes Hercules to have a terrible dream in which Serena taunts him about the loss of his strength. When he awakens the next morning from the awful nightmare, he is horrified to find himself covered in blood, with a bloody knife at his side. Startled, he picks it up before turning to stare into the lifeless eyes of his murdered bride.
On his way to Hercules' house, Iolaus passes the town elders and the agitator, who are also headed in the same direction. They're all nearby when Hercules lets loose a terrible howl of grief as he kneels over his deceased wife. When the agitator accuses Hercules of the murder, the son of Zeus throws him and all the elders out of his house. Meanwhile, Ares approaches the Fate Atropos (Elizabeth Pendergrast) to ask her to cut Hercules' life line. When she protests that a god cannot kill him and that he is protected by Zeus (Peter Vere-Jones), Ares informs her that that's no longer true since Hercules has sinned against the gods by killing a mortal in cold blood. Despite her misgivings, Atropos picks up the line and is just about to cut it when Zeus intervenes, insisting that his son have a fair trial.
Hercules is leaving his house to find the town magistrate when he and Iolaus see a lynch mob approaching. At Iolaus' urging, Hercules makes a quick getaway and is helped by a trader named Veklos (Bill Johnson), who hides him in his store. But when Hercules decides he must leave, the mob catches up with him and beats him mercilessly. Iolaus tries to help but he, too, is overpowered. Just in time, they hear a familiar female battle cry. At the sight of Xena, Hercules musters all his remaining strength and fights his way through the soldiers. Hercules, Xena, Iolaus and Gabrielle battle back to back and the intimidated soldiers and villagers finally give up and disperse. Badly injured, Hercules lapses into unconsciousness. As Xena tends to his wounds, Iolaus tells her that Serena is dead and the townspeople believe Hercules is the murderer. Iolaus then breaks the news to Gabrielle, adding that Hercules himself is unsure as to whether he killed his wife. When Hercules comes to, Xena helps him realize that Ares is undoubtedly behind his terrible troubles. With the help of his friends, the son of Zeus stages his own death, as well as Iolaus', determined to expose the real murderer, who turns out to be Strife. Hercules attacks Ares' smug nephew, but has a hard time holding his own against the powerful young god. Suddenly, the trader Veklos morphs into Zeus. Zeus restores Hercules' superhuman powers, allowing him to defeat Strife before he escapes with Ares.
Before Zeus can get away, Hercules confronts his father for the first time since before his family died. Though Hercules is thankful for his father's ability to restore his power, he becomes furious when Zeus states his inability to undo what Hera and Ares have done to his loved ones on separate, but evenly painful occasions. Later that day, at Serena's funeral, Hercules strikes the wedding band he gave her into her grave marker as a lasting memory of his love for her.
Starring: Kevin Sorbo (Hercules), Michael Hurst (Iolaus)
Guest Starring: Sam Jenkins (Serena), Kevin Smith (Ares), Renee O'Connor (Gabrielle), Lucy Lawless (Xena), Joel Tobeck (Strife), Peter Vere-Jones (Zeus), Bill Johnson (Veklos), Dane Jero (Head Soldier), Huntly Eliott (Town Elder), Geoffrey Knight (Agitator), Christian Hodge (Drunk #1), Ted Clarke (Drunk #2), Elizabeth Pendergrast (Atropos), Michaela Daniel (Lachesis), Rebecca Kopacka (Clotho)
Written by Robert Bielak
Directed by Gus Trikonis