In this most fierce of Shakespearean dramas, the great Roman general Titus Andronicus (Anthony Hopkins) returns home victorious from a long war with the Goths, during which all but four of his 21 sons have died. In keeping with the tradition of sacrificing a prisoner to thank the gods for victory, Titus kills the eldest son of Tamora, Queen of the Goths (Jessica Lange). Vowing revenge, her chance comes soon when the Roman emperor Saturninus (Alan Cumming)—to whom Titus is loyal—takes her for a wife. Alternating conspiracies escalate, taking the lives of Titus' and Tamora's remaining sons and plunging the country into war.