18世紀的歐洲,才華洋溢的年輕女畫家瑪莉安收到委託,需要在對方不知情的狀況下,完成富家小姐艾洛伊茲出嫁前的肖像畫。兩人在孤島相依為命,白天女畫家悄悄觀察小姐的一舉一動,到了晚上才縱情下筆。兩人在畫與被畫的親密接觸下,即便是在充滿禮教束縛的時代,卻也漸漸萌發了禁忌的曖昧情愫,隨著大婚之日越來越近,她們的愛火卻越燒越猛烈……

Ivory Tower is an existential sports comedy, a story of two brothers and their unhealthy rivalry over both the chessboard and a woman. Hershell is a chess purist, the prodigal son, an artist. Thadeus grew to be a disciplined, fierce and ruthless competitor, commercially exploiting his chess notoriety. At the death of their father, Hershell spent four nomadic years travelling Europe in quixotic pursuit of his "Jazz Chess" theory: chess for chess' sake, reduced to pure movement without the element of competition and best played alone. There is no winner, no loser, only beautiful positions. The film starts at his return home to Toronto, where he finds that his brother Thadeus has become the Canadian Chess Champion. Successful but arrogant, Thadeus supports their sick mother, has a rising media profile and is engaged to marry Marsha, Hershell's former sweetheart for whom he still longs. Hershell finds that Jazz Chess doesn't attract the acclaim or investors he was hoping for; even kids playing chess in the park don't seem to understand "chess without checkmate". Discouraged by his prospects, and wanting Marsha back, Hershell finds himself drawn toward the competitive addiction from which he had run. He decides to challenge Thadeus for the upcoming Canadian Chess Championship. The gauntlet is thrown down and the two brothers undergo rigorous training, each according to their vision if the game. During the final match, Thadeus takes the lead but is flustered by Hershell's Zen-like demeanor. Thadeus blunders out of frustration and sets himself up for certain defeat at the hands of his brother in just one deadly move. Whose trophy will Marsha be? Will Hershell use his Jazz Chess principles and prove that art for art's sake can triumph?... "it's not about winning but about the beauty of each move" or will Thadeus' killer instinct prevail?... "chess is war".