The story begins in 1792, during the height of the Spanish Inquisition. Inés Bilbatúa, a beautiful teenage girl and Goya’s model, is falsely accused of being a "secret Jew" (a Judaizer) simply because she was seen refusing to eat pork at a tavern. She is arrested and subjected to "The Question"—a form of torture used by the Inquisition to force confessions.
Desperate for help, Inés's wealthy merchant father turns to Goya, who uses his connection with Brother Lorenzo, a high-ranking Inquisitor whose portrait he is painting. During a dinner at the Bilbatúa home, the father subjects Lorenzo to the same torture to demonstrate that anyone will confess to anything under enough pain. Though Lorenzo promises to help, he instead visits Inés in prison, rapes her, and she remains incarcerated for decades. The Shifting Tides of Power Goya's Ghosts
Fifteen years later, in 1808, the Napoleonic army invades Spain and abolishes the Inquisition. Inés is finally released from prison, but the years of abuse and isolation have left her mentally broken and emaciated. The story begins in 1792, during the height