The tragic story of Carlo Gesualdo, a composer and madrigalist, recognised as one of the great musical names of the late 16th century. Set in the year 1613, when Gesualdo discovers his wife and her lover in bed together and kills them both - the film is not only about his music, but also about his dreadful guilt, and how it subsequently poisons his life and ruins his next marriage.

The film is set in a church on Good Friday, 1613-the year of Gesualdo's death. Told in a series of flashbacks, the mystery of his life unfolds, full of dark secrets, violence and death, leading to the final terrible climax. As the story unfolds, Gesualdo's music goes on- the '”Tenebrae'' in the Church, his madrigals, his instrumental music.

Location filming took place in the Italy familiar to Gesualdo, including Ferrar, Naples and his own castle in Gesualdo, itself.