Miguel de Cervantes, poet, playwright, and part-time actor, was arrested by the Spanish Inquisition in the sixteenth century, along with his manservant. They are accused of providing offensive entertainment to the Inquisition. The other prisoners gang up on Cervantes and his manservant inside the massive dungeon into which they have been cast, and begin a mock trial with the intention of stealing or burning his possessions. Cervantes desperately wishes to save a manuscript he carries with him and stages an unusual defense—the story of Don Quixote—with costumes, makeup, and the participation of the other prisoners.