Using Greek and Roman historians as his guides, Michael Wood follows Alexander's journey in search of the truth behind the legends, folk tales, and religious texts that depict him as both a brilliant visionary and a ruthless conqueror. He travels on foot and by camel, boat, pack horse and jeep, across the deserts, rivers, and mountain ranges of Turkey, Israel, Egypt, Iran, and war-torn Afghanistan.

Before embarking on the grueling return to Babylon, Wood treks through the North-West Frontier into Pakistan and India to the scene of Alexander's last great battle. Throughout the journey, he re-creates the drama of Alexander's epic marches and bloody battles, interweaving the momentous events of the past with current affairs. As he follows in the footsteps of the conqueror, Wood discovers that the legendary, enigmatic figure of Alexander the Great still towers in the twentieth-century imagination.