During the German-Russian occupation of Paris in 1814, a Prussian lieutenant, Hugo von Löwenklau, comes to the rescue of a young Parisian woman, Margot. Soon after, he becomes entangled with her calculating and opportunistic stepbrother, Captain Albin Richemonte.Richemonte is determined to marry her off to a rich baron, all in an effort to extricate himself from his own mounting gambling debts. In the face of Margot's blossoming romance, the baron and captain aren't about to let Löwenklau whisk the young mademoiselle away. Stopping at nothing to rid themselves of the young officer, even murder, they concoct a daring plot which puts Löwenklau into contention with the famous French Emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte.Faced on one side with the relentless captain's schemes and a spurned emperor on another, Löwenklau finds himself in the fight of his life--to keep Margot out of the clutches of these two villains. Overwhelmed and outnumbered, Hugo struggles to stay ahead of them while maintaining honor and integrity.