Passion Destroys Everything
France 1562. Under the reign of Charles IX, war is raging between Catholics and Protestants. The beautiful young Marie de Mézières, heiress to one of the kingdom's greatest fortunes, pines for the Duc de Guise—known as Le Balafré, or "Scarface". But in an effort to cement their position at court, her father, the Marquis de Mézières, gives Marie in marriage to a man she has never met, the Prince de Montpensier.
All of France is a bloody battlefield, and the Prince is summoned to join Charles’ War against the Protestants, so he must send his young bride to the safety of one of his most secluded castles, Champigny. There, his friend and former tutor, the Comte de Chabannes, is charged to complete the Princess' education so that she can take her place at court once the war is ended. But soon after Montpensier joins Marie, fate and the changing course of the war lead both Guise and the Duc d'Anjou—the future Henri III—to Champigny. In turn, Anjou falls in love with the Princess, to whose charms Chabannes has also succumbed. Immediately, a violent, passionate rivalry develops between these four men—with Marie as the prize.
