Mark Rothko has taken the largest commission in the history of modern art, and he may already regret it. The murals are bound for a fashionable Manhattan restaurant, where people will eat beneath them and may never look up. In his Bowery studio, he hires Ken, a young assistant, to stretch canvas and mix paint. Over two years, the two argue about what art is for, who it belongs to, and what a painting is worth once someone has paid for it.