The Duke is to judge a competition to find Florence's best young artist. Leonardo is determined to produce the best painting of his life so as to beat Michelangelo, who taunts Leonardo, confident that he himself is the superior artist. As the deadline looms, a sabotage attempt by Michelangelo's friends pushes Leo to his limits, but it's a misguided attempt to help him on the part of one of Leo's own friends that leads to his downfall, leaving the way open for a surprise victory for an outsider who nobody expected to win.