Trying to escape from the mysterious curse haunting the Izmailov princes and from her fatal love, Elizabeth finds herself in Italy, in the retinue of a very strange and mysterious lady. After numerous adventures in which the ardent and passionate Elizabeth continually finds herself (including a stormy meeting with Casanova himself!), she learns that her mysterious friend is the rightful heir to the Russian throne, the daughter of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. Alas, fate is unkind to the poor princess... But after her death, Elizabeth, brave to the point of madness, comes to Russia as an impostor. The deception is revealed. Imprisonment in the Peter and Paul Fortress, and then a forced marriage with the tyrant, Count Stroilov, is not yet the most severe punishment for her...