Rome 1492, the center of the Christian world. The seat of that Papacy. The Pope had the power to crown and uncrown kings. To change the course of empires. The church was mired in corruption. Pope Innocent VIII was dying and the Papal throne was the prize desired by all.

After Pope Innocent dies the Cardinals must vote to see who become the new Pope.  Rodrigo Borgia sets out to buy votes, and after a few tries, with the help of his sons, he finally gets it done.

Cardinals Della Rovere and Orsini are not happy about the outcome of the vote, and become even more upset when Borgia names Sforza his Vice Chancellor.

Orsini invites everyone to banquet at his palace. Cesare finds Orsini's assassin in the kitchen getting ready to kill him and his father. Cesare gets the assassin to switch sides by giving him more money, and they kill Orsini.