Fernando is a farce about tragic people set in Madrid. Zachariah Smythe, assistant professor of art, has come to Madrid to study a painting by Fernando De La Cruz. Zach considers the painting a masterpiece and the painter one of the greatest Spanish artists of the last one hundred years. He is entirely alone in this. Still, Zach is willing to bet everything on an article about this enormous painting. Unfortunately, he has run out of professional chances, the memory of his wife's suicide preys on him, his time in Madrid is limited, and his sobriety is tenuous. Enter Teresa, a brilliant and beautiful Spanish woman full of secrets and rage. The play explores the conflict between love and art, devotion and submission, and the danger in making men into gods.