Sir William's daughter Polly and the forest warden’s son George are best friends and quite inseparable. As they mature beyond the carefree days of childhood, their disparity in rank and status looms larger between them, and George puts aside his dreams of sharing the rest of his life with Polly....
In Horsens, the exiled Russian princess Elisabeth Antonovna is imprisoned. Though her existence is a sad one, two things in particular can cheer the princess up: stories about the cunning smuggler Madsalune, and flirting with her humble suitor, Lieutenant Johan Gordon. One fine day, the two joys...