The novel (1809) by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The marriage of Edward and Charlotte gets worse with the arrival at the castle Young Ottilia, grandson of Carlotta, and Brass. Edward is attracted to Ottilia, Carlotta by Otto. The action is moved from Germany to Tuscany San Miniato and Poggio a Caiano and moved chronologically Napoleonic era (but the finishing touches are several). 嘉乐塔（伊莎贝尔·于佩尔 Isabelle Huppert 饰）和爱德华（让·雨果·安格拉德 Jean-Hugues Anglade 饰）是刚刚携手步入婚姻殿堂的新婚小夫妻，两人还沉浸在新婚燕尔的喜悦和幸福之中。某日，爱德华的好朋友奥腾（法布瑞齐奥·班提佛格里欧 Fabrizio Bentivoglio 饰）来访，这位充满了魅力的男子让嘉乐塔的内心产生了动摇。与此同时，嘉乐塔的养女奥蒂莉亚（玛丽·吉莲 Marie Gillain 饰）竟然爱上了爱德华，这个看似和睦的家庭里激流暗涌。 战争爆发了，爱德华应征走上了前线，嘉乐塔则和腹中的孩子一起等待丈夫的归来。孩子降生后，因为奥蒂莉亚的疏忽悲惨的溺死了，绝望和自责的奥蒂莉亚也紧跟而去，同时传来的，还有爱德华的死讯。
