This full-blooded romance (directed by Bertrand Tavernier) is set in the year 1567 while France is being ravaged by on again, off again civil war. We witness the intrigues of the royal court through the eyes of two central figures: the Comte de Chabannes, a world-weary man of learning who has given up the sword after one too many senseless deaths, and his pupil, the Princess of Montpensier (Mélanie Thierry), a beautiful and headstrong girl who chafes against the arranged life planned for her by the various men in her orbit.