It is 1782 in Spain and through the eyes of the great Spanish painter Francisco Goya (Stellan Skarsgard) unfolds the story of a group of people caught up in the brutal later years of the Spanish Inquisition, the invasion of Spain by Napoleon's army and the restoration of the Spanish monarchy by Wellington's powerful invading army. Javier Bardem is Brother Lorenzo, an enigmatic, cunning member of the inquisition's inner circle who becomes involved with Goya's teenage muse, Ines (Natalie Portman), when she is falsely accused of heresy, sent to prison and the horrors begin...