In 1663, Father Antonio Vieira, a famous Jesuit priest who was a close friend of the late King Joao IV, is summoned before the Tribunal of the terrible Inquisition. His position there is weakened by plots and misunderstandings. In front of the judges, Vieira reviews his past: his youth spent in Brazil and as a novitiate in Bahia, his involvement in the Indian cause, and his first successes in the pulpit. After the Inquisition deprives him of his freedom of speech, he flees to Rome where he achieves a good reputation and much success. The Pope decides to keep him within his jurisdiction. Queen Christina of Sweden, who had been living in Rome since her abdication, keeps Vieira at court and insists he become her confessor. But Vieira misses his country and returns to Portugal. There, the cold reception by the new king, Dom Pedro, persuades him to leave for Brazil where he spends his final days.