Bologna 1858, a Jewish boy is kidnapped by the Inquisition. His father takes up a struggle begun by Napoleon 60 years earlier. The emperor nearly succeeds in dismantling the inquisition and securing its secret files, but the popes regain their earthly powers. Decades later a desperate father will fight to get back his son. The boy becomes a symbol for an embattled pope. The Jewish father and the emperor unleash the forces that bring about the end of the inquisition.