Florence, mid-16th century. Lucrezia, third daughter of the Grand Duke Cosimo de' Medici, is a quiet and perceptive girl, with a singular talent for drawing, who she enjoys in her discreet and quiet place in the palazzo. But when her sister Maria dies, just before marrying Alfonso d'Este, eldest son of the Duke of Ferrara, Lucrezia unexpectedly becomes the center of attention: the duke rushes to ask for her hand, and she her father to accept her. Shortly after, at only fifteen years old, she moves to the court of Ferrara, where she is received with suspicion. Her husband, twelve years her senior, is an enigma: is he really the sensitive and understanding man he first seemed to her, or a ruthless despot everyone fears? The only thing that is clear is what is expected of her: that she provide an heir as soon as possible to ensure the continuity of his title.