Theodore Gericault, a young romantic painter, fascinated by horses, meets the famous trainer, Franconi, director of the Olympic Circus. Theodore settles himself in the Circus and shares the life of the company. With Franconi, Géricault learns to free himself from convention and to consider horses as almost the only subject for his paintings. The seductive approaches of a young woman rider are not enough to distract Géricault from his fierce determination to fathom the mystery of horses and the challengeto paint them. He will also find out the secret of painting horses while galloping.