The merchant Antonio - on behalf of his friend Bassanio, who hopes to wed an heiress, but has few funds - seeks a loan from Shylock, a Jewish moneylender whom Antonio has always treated with the utmost contempt. Shylock agrees to lend Antonio the money, but the merchant is to honour the debt with a pound of his own flesh. When Antonio defaults, Shylock prepares to take his gruesome revenge - only to find that the law is a knife that can cut two ways.