Though officially their uncle, Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia gathers his three children, but Juan's and Cesare's lack of control threaten his life's work.

When a plot to poison the pope is baffled and the pontiff's original testament restored, Cesare watches his brother rise further in Rodrigo's esteem.

A quarrel starts among the cardinals and old reckonings are being settled, while Cesare offers his son as a sacrifice to God, abandoning the newborn.

Rodrigo promises estates and offices for those voting in his favour, and when white smoke rises, he leaves the conclave as Pope Alexander VI.