Titus Andronicus, the great Roman general, returns home victorious from a long war with the northern Goths during which all but his four remaining sons have died. Lucius, the eldest son, reminds Titus that part of the victory ritual is the human sacrifice of an enemy prisoner. Titus chooses the eldest son of Tamora, the Queen of the Goths, who has been brought back to Rome as a captive with her three sons and the Moor, Aaron. Though Tamora pleads for her son's life, Titus carries out the ritual, not out of cruelty but out of what he conceives to be religious devotion. Tamora and her two remaining sons, Chiron and Demetrius, vow revenge. With that, the tale of double revenge begins--first Tamora's and then Titus'.
