Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarrotti has risen into Rome's artistic elite, and the ailing Pope Clement commissions him topaint The Last Judgement. When the artist apprentices Tomasso, a young nobleman, to be his muse and inspiration, Michelangelo must contend with the conflict between his growing love and his fear of eternal damnation. Rumours of their relationship lead the paranoid Cardinal de Cesena to bribe members of Michelangelo's household to discover the truth behind the whispers.
 
Can Michelangelo hide his feelings from both the churchand himself, or will The Last Judgement destroy him?