When two riders come to the monastery seeking shelter for the night they inquire from one of the monks about the founding of the monastery. The old monk reluctantly recounts the story of Count Starschensky, a nobleman of wealth and property. Starschensky is blessed with domestic happiness, however, he later finds that his young wife, Elga, has been sneaking her lover into the castle in evenings when he is away, and that their only child is not his, but a product of this affair. Tragedy ensues and the count sells his estates and establishes the monastery as part of his penance.
The long dead ancestress of a noble family returns to haunt her last two remaining descendants. She can not rest until the entire family line has passed away. When she reappears, the household knows it is an ill omen. The patriarch of the family is old, and without a son. He is eager for his daughter to marry. She has her eye on a handsome young nobleman named Jaromir, but he isn't quite who he appears to be. This may be the opportunity the restless spirit has been waiting for for so long...
