Set in the 6th Century this is the tale of murder, greed, passion and revenge in Scotland and Denmark. The Royal throne has been taken over by the King's brother, after the King's murder. But the murder was witnessed by the younger brother, who plots his revenge by faking madness and trying to reveal the truth through the 'play within a play'.

Peter Greenaway's surreal story has twin brothers (Brian and Eric Deacon), both zoologists, re-examining the meaning of life after a car accident involving a swan claims the lives of their wives. They study the decomposition of several animals with time-lapse photography, plot to liberate zoo animals, and begin a menage-a-trois with the one-legged woman who survived the crash.