Set in an Italian village in the 15th century, Vinci revolves around the struggle for custody of a gifted child, a "golden boy," Leonarda da Vinci. Padre Bartolomeo, a friend of the da Vinci family, finds himself caught between the powerful da Vincis and Leonardo's defiant unwed mother, Caterina. In his efforts to mediate the dispute and determine the future of Caterina's exceptional child, Bartolomeo comes to a new understanding of the nature of forgiveness and love.