Italy, 1522: In the face of the Protestant Reformation, a fanatical monk sets out to exterminate the heresy.

Italy, 1522. The decadence of a Medici pope in Rome outrages the devout German priest named Martin Luther. In the face of the Protestant Reformation, a fanatical monk sets out to exterminate the heresy. On his path to power he will create the Roman Inquisition. And he will become the most hated pope in history. Powerful leaders of the Catholic Church are arrested and imprisoned, accused of reading books banned by the church. Free-thinking students are silenced. Darkness descends on the centers of learning and on the Renaissance. The Roman Inquisition leaves a legacy that lasts into the 20th century.