In 1519, glory-hungry soldier Hernán Cortés leads an expedition to the Yucatán. After landing on the coast of what is now Mexico, he meets Marina, an enslaved Indigenous woman and gifted linguist who becomes indispensable to his advance. As Cortés turns fragile alliances, faith and fear into instruments of conquest, Marina watches him transform from a daring outlaw into a self-anointed messiah.