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Angelotti, an escaped prisoner, enters the church. He finds the key hidden by his sister, the Marchese Attavanti at the base of a statue of the virgin, and hides in the nearby Attavanti Chapel.

The Sacristan grumbles as he cleans brushes and tidies the scaffold where an unfinished painting of Mary Magdalene sits unattended. As the Sacristan recites the Angelus, the painter, Mario Cavaradossi, arrives to work on the portrait. He has portrayed her as a blond woman with blue eyes, whom the Sacristan recognizes as the woman who recently came to pray at the statue of the virgin. Cavaradossi reflects on how he has thought only of the dark beauty of his love, the singer Floria Tosca, while painting the portrait.

After the Sacristan leaves, Angelotti emerges from the chapel and is overjoyed to recognize Cavaradossi, a political ally. They begin to make plans, but Tosca is heard knocking at the locked door. Cavaradossi gives Angelotti his lunch basket, and Angelotti hides in the chapel again.

Tosca jealously accuses Cavaradossi of having another woman with him. He denies it until Tosca calms down and starts planning their meeting for later that evening. Cavaradossi answers distractedly, so Tosca reproaches him again. Seeing the painting, Tosca recognizes the woman as the Marchese Attavanti and accuses Cavaradossi of being in love with her. Cavaradossi declares that it is Tosca’s dark eyes that he loves, and she demands that he repaint the portrait with eyes like hers.

When she is gone, Angelotti emerges carrying some women’s clothes his sister had left for him as a disguise in the family chapel. Cavaradossi tells Angelotti to hide at his villa. A cannon shot from the prison signals that the escape has been discovered. Cavaradossi hurriedly decides to take Angelotti to the villa himself, and they leave.

The Sacristan rushes in to tell Cavaradossi the news of a victory over Napoleon, for which a Te Deum will be sung, and is surprised to find no one there. The choir boys gather for the service and become excited. Their excitement is cut short by the arrival of Baron Scarpia, head of Rome’s secret police, in search of Angelotti. He finds the chapel left open and, inside, Cavaradossi’s lunch basket and a fan bearing the Attavanti crest.

Tosca returns looking for Cavaradossi. Scarpia, who is infatuated with her, uses the fan to inflame her jealousy. When she rushes out, he sends Spoletta, a police agent, to follow her.

The Te Deum service begins. Scarpia muses how events are moving in his favor. He may be able to eliminate his political enemies and seduce Tosca at the same time. Realizing that he has forgotten the church service, he declares, “Tosca, you make me forget God!”

Scarpia interrupts his supper to send a note to Tosca, who is performing at the victory celebration in the Palace. He insists that she come to see him after the performance.

Spoletta reports that he followed Tosca to Cavaradossi’s villa, but found no one there except Cavaradossi. However, Cavaradossi was so defiant that he was arrested for questioning. Cavaradossi is brought in; Tosca’s performance is heard through the window, which distracts both Cavaradossi and Scarpia until the window is shut. Cavaradossi denies the accusation that he helped Angelotti.

Tosca rushes in, still flushed from the performance. Cavaradossi quietly tells her to say nothing. Scarpia has Cavaradossi taken into the next room to be tortured. Scarpia tells Tosca that she can save Cavaradossi by revealing where Angelotti is hidden. Though Cavaradossi has warned Tosca to say nothing, her anguish at his cries forces her to reveal the hiding place.

Cavaradossi is brought back into the office and confronted with the information obtained from Tosca. Just then, the news arrives that Napoleon has actually won the battle and that the earlier report was false. Cavaradossi is overjoyed. Scarpia orders him taken to prison to await execution, but demands Tosca stay.

Tosca asks Scarpia to save Cavaradossi; Scarpia says that it is up to her. When she asks, “How much?” he replies that he wants more than mere money for violating his oath of office — he wants her! Scarpia counters every argument she makes by declaring that if she will not yield, Cavaradossi will die. Tosca, defeated, reflects that all she has lived for are art and love and questions how her life has come to this. Tosca finally agrees to Scarpia’s demand, but wants assurance that Cavaradossi will be freed and that they will be given safe conduct out of Rome. Telling Tosca that a mock execution must be carried out, Scarpia calls in Spoletta and orders him to have Cavaradossi shot “as we did with Count Palmieri.” While Scarpia is writing the safe conduct, Tosca takes a knife from the supper table. When he comes to embrace her, she stabs him, saying “This is Tosca’s kiss!”

After Scarpia dies, Tosca takes the safe conduct from his hand and leaves, locking the door behind her.

Just before dawn, a shepherd’s song is heard in the distance. A jailer takes up his post and accepts charge of the prisoner Cavaradossi; he tells Cavaradossi that he has just one hour before his execution. Cavaradossi asks to write a note to Tosca and offers his ring to the jailer as payment for delivering it; the jailer accepts, giving Cavaradossi paper and pen.

Cavaradossi begins to write, but the memory of Tosca overwhelms him. Faced with death, he concludes, “Never before have I loved life so much.”

Spoletta brings in Tosca. She shows Cavaradossi the safe conduct and tells him how she obtained it. She then instructs him how to fall and play dead during the mock execution.

The firing squad arrives. As they prepare for the execution, Tosca and Cavaradossi pretend to say farewell while she continues to coach him.

The squad fires, and Cavaradossi falls. Tosca anxiously whispers for Cavaradossi to remain still until the firing squad has left. When she tries to rouse him, she finds Scarpia has tricked her and that Cavaradossi is dead.

Angry voices below announce the discovery of Scarpia’s body. As Spoletta and the soldiers return to arrest her, Tosca runs to the parapet and jumps to her death, exclaiming “Oh Scarpia! Before God!”