The Scapegoat follows the ancient Roman poet Ovid – enormously popular during his lifetime, and banished by the emperor Augustus to a remote city on the Black Sea – on his fictitious journey out of exile.

In the year 14AD, Publius Ovidius Naso – known as Ovid – is in his sixth year of banishment in Tomis, a small port on the Black Sea. He resists joining a conspiracy against the Emperor and hopes that his friend in Rome will obtain his pardon. However, when Augustus dies later that year, the conspirators, terrified that their treasonous plan will come to light, move Ovid to a garrison along the Danube where they intend to kill him. He manages to escape, is caught, but instead of being killed, he is sent to Rome and is turned into an outlaw – and a scapegoat.