Caligula is the young heir to the throne of his uncle, the Emperor Tiberius. One morning, a blackbird flies into his room; Caligula considers this a bad omen. Shortly afterward, the head of the Praetorian Guard, Naevius Sutorius Macro, tells Caligula that Tiberius demands his immediate presence at Capri, where the Emperor lives with his close friend Marcus Cocceius Nerva (jurist), a dim-witted relative Claudius, and Caligula's younger stepbrother Tiberius Gemellus. Fearing assassination, Caligula is afraid to leave but his sister and lover Julia Drusilla persuades him to go.