A guerra civil atinge a Inglaterra medieval enquanto as Casas de York e Lancaster disputam o trono. Richard, o filho mais novo do Duque de York, não quer nada mais do que ver seu pai coroado rei, mas luta com um segredo que teme enfrentar.

O Duque de York conquistou a capital e o trono, mas ainda precisa vencer o exército da Rainha Margaret se espera ser coroado rei. Richard, preso por sua mãe, só pode especular sobre os destinos da guerra.

A morte do Duque de York é um golpe tanto para Richard quanto para a causa York, mas um revés imprevisto dá ao Conde de Warwick e Edward tempo para reunir suas forças. Como Richard enfrentará a próxima batalha e um mundo sem seu pai?

Edward, agora rei, pede a Richard para guardar o segredo de seu caso com Elizabeth Woodville. Sozinho na floresta, Richard tem um encontro inesperado que o obriga a se questionar.

O Conde de Warwick fervilha com sua humilhação e perda de poder causada pelo casamento do Rei Edward. Enquanto isso, o tempo de Richard com a filha do conde, Anne, levanta novas possibilidades na mente do jovem duque.

O Conde de Warwick planeja uma rebelião e as tensões aumentam entre George e o Rei Edward. O rei se recusa a duvidar de seu companheiro ou de seu irmão, mas sua confiança pode lhe custar a coroa.

Richard e Catesby correm para resgatar o prisioneiro Edward, que caiu nas mãos de Warwick. Enquanto isso, o Príncipe Edward está preocupado com sua posição na Inglaterra e seus sentimentos por Richard.

A Guerra das Rosas continua, e o pai de Richard, o Duque de York, está disputando o trono. Enquanto isso, Richard luta com um segredo.

Richard e Catesby continuam sua missão de reconquistar George à causa York. Enquanto isso, Henry lamenta sua posição enquanto Warwick levanta um exército para impedir o retorno de Edward.

Quando as forças de Edward e Warwick finalmente se chocam, Richard corre pelo campo de batalha enevoado em busca do Rei Henry, o alvo de sua vingança.

Warwick está morto e seu exército disperso, mas Edward e as forças York ainda precisam enfrentar o exército francês de Margaret. Como Richard se sairá na batalha após um encontro perturbador com Henry?

Richard sofre um tumulto interno enquanto Edward comemora a vitória York e George disputa uma posição. Quando a questão do destino do prisioneiro Henry é levantada, Richard é forçado a fazer uma escolha irrevogável.

Richard captures George for cursing Edward IV. However, Edward IV keeps hoping that George might come to his senses. Richard makes a decision: "Buckingham, kill George." Now Richard must convince Edward IV that it was the Woodville family that sent George to his death. George, cornered by Richard and Buckingham's plot, storms into the courtroom.

Richard is now taking care of Edward IV...but upon the king's death, Queen Elizabeth's brother Anthony plans to install a child prince as king and himself as regent. Anthony also attempts to arrest Richard for treason, but Buckingham also lurks behind the shadows. Finally, Buckingham learns the secret of Richard, who then reveals a dream: "If you can't escape your fate...then become the devil."

Richard and Buckingham embark on a majority-rule maneuver to gain the throne. It creates more suffering for Catesby, who has been trying to protect Richard while serving Hastings. Who is his loyalty truly for? Meanwhile, Hastings and the Queen Mother are planning a service for King Edward V. The service would publicize and solidify Elizabeth's power if held, and now Richard is gradually pushed into a position of inferiority.

Hastings and the Queen Mother carry out a plan to disqualify Richard...but it's revealed that Edward V, son of Edward IV and Elizabeth, had no rightful claim to the throne. So Edward V and his brother are imprisoned in the Tower of London. Thus Richard steadily closes in on the throne...but Cecily agitates the people against it, stating "the devil must not be made king!" Faced with throngs of angry citizens, Richard and Buckingham put on the play of the century.

Anne witnesses Richard coming out of Buckingham's room at night. "You know him better than anyone," she says to Catesby. "If he's hiding something, please tell me." To root out Richard's secret, Anne proposes that he dress as a woman and she as a man at a banquet they call "The Devil's Paradise." Despite Anne's intentions, the banquet is a great success, the two of them lost among the admiring crowd. Then Buckingham appears, dressed as the devil.

At a rainy villa, a night spent with Henry VI springs back to Richard's memory. Buckingham, knowing who Richard once loved, joins hands with the king. "Say the name," he tells him, "my name." The villa is visited by Tyrell, the assassin who took George and the others. Buckingham is shocked when he realizes Tyrell is the spitting image of Henry VI. Meanwhile, in London, Richmond is on the move for the throne.

Rumors circulate that Richard is not the rightful king. This story leads to the escape of Edward V, son of the previous king, and his brother from the Tower of London. Richard suffers from poor health as he prepares for his coronation in York. A medical examination by the imprisoned witch Jane suggests a certain possibility. With that in mind, Richard visits Buckingham's castle. There, Buckingham's love for Richard grows to the point where he takes unprecedented action. "I can no longer keep my cool with you around."

Buckingham, determined to rebel, tries to win the cooperation of Bishop Ely and Stanley. Meanwhile, Richmond advises his father-in-law Stanley of the conditions under which he will join the rebellion. Those conditions: The death of King Edward V and his brother, who are imprisoned in the Tower of London. Buckingham believes Richard III, and no one else, must commit the murders. At the same time, Richard enters York and waits for Buckingham, who is expected to come. However, after the coronation, Richard is visited by the assassin Tyrell.

With Buckingham in open rebellion, an anguished Richard turns toward Catesby. "If only I hadn't been so intimate with him. If only I wasn't the son of the devil..." But that was no longer an option. Leaving his wife Anne and son Edward behind, Richard sets out for battle. Richard III and Buckingham cross swords in the Forest of Dean, just as they promised. "I will cross the border and abandon my name. I will stand by your side and cut through your thorns until the day I die. That...and the loyalty to your father that still binds you..."

Just as Richard has personally seen to the end of Buckingham, Anne confesses that her tuberculosis has returned. Anne begs Richard to disinherit their kind-hearted son Edward in order to protect him. Facing the cruel fate of loved ones drifting away, Richard desperate enough for the departed Buckingham to try replacing him with Catesby. But Catesby says he cannot, for "the heat of the body cannot warm the soul." In the midst of this, the battle with Richmond approaches.

"If this name, if this blood, was all an illusion...then what is the point of this battle?" Richard looks back at his past, guided by Tyrell in front of him. "Let us go home, even if it is a battlefield where not even sleep is allowed to us..."