In 1577, Pic Saint Loup, a great couturier in decline, is entrusted with a diplomatic mission by Henri III: he must create his most beautiful ceremonial gown for the arranged marriage of one the king's nephews with the daughter of a Grandee of Spain.
In fundamentalist Catholic Spain, which hunts down Protestants, Moors, Jews and homosexuals, Saint Loup (not exactly straight) sets out on the road surrounded by his staff. What he doesn't know is that he is leaving with a Protestant, his loyal secretary, who is determined to hide a bomb in the gown to avenge his people for the bloody Saint Bartholomew's Day massacre. He is also leaving with a Moor, who must be transformed into a blond Norman, his perfumer, his "nose," a converted Jew, along with his hairdresser, a raging queen.
This merry "persona non grata" band end up at the house of the bride’s father, a deranged person of the worst sort, who is none other than the Great Inquisitor of Seville.
Pic Saint Loup, who has dedicated his life to putting a bit of gaiety into an existence that is hardly that, finds himself thrown into the darkness of the Inquisition. It's what is called sticking one's head into the lion's mouth.