1838: Fritz Jüterbog and Ottilie von Henkeshofen love each other, but the difference in status is too great for Ottilie's parents to give their consent to a marriage. And so Fritz sets off for America and returns from there 20 years later as a made man to ask for Ottilie's hand in marriage again. In the meantime, however, Ottilie - believing that Fritz had long since forgotten her - is married in a manner befitting her status, but very unhappily. Fritz, who is highly successful as an entrepreneur, is elevated to hereditary nobility because of his great services to the fatherland. It is too late for a union with Ottilie, but despite the years that pass, the two cannot forget their love. 75 years later, Fritz and Ottilie have died in the meantime, their grandchildren Fred and Tilla meet and fall in love.
En 1861, Angelina, condesa regente de un principado italiano, que se acaba de casar, está desesperada tras ser invadido su dominio por el ejército húngaro. Su antepasada Francesca, que superó una situación similar 300 años antes, vuelve a la vida, surgiendo de un retrato para ayudar a su descendiente. Para complicar las cosas, la condesa recién casada se siente extrañamente atraída por un apuesto invasor.
La historia narra cómo dos condes recién casados se ven sorprendidos al salir de la Iglesia por las tropas austriacas, que están sometiendo una rebelión italiana. Aunque deciden ir a su castillo con sus invitados, pronto se ve que el jefe del ejército quiere seducir a la joven condesa...
When her husband marches off to war, Mariana is left in charge of the ancestral castle and is thus on hand when an invading Austrian regiment makes the castle its headquarters.
