Johann Gutenberg has devised a revolutionary method of bookmaking: a machine he calls a printing press. Johann Fust is financing Gutenberg’s workshop and orders his adopted son, Peter, to become Gutenberg’s apprentice. As Peter’s skill grows, so, too, does his admiration for Gutenberg and his dedication to their daring venture: copies of the Holy Bible. But mechanical difficulties and the crushing power of the Catholic Church threaten their work.