Born to a Russian family of lower nobility, Xenia is a passionate and tender dreamer who cares little for social conventions. A free spirit, she unexpectedly falls in love with the dashing Andrei, a handsome soldier with the Imperial choir and a favorite of the empress. Though husband and wife are devoted to each other, their perfect happiness is overshadowed by the petty demands of life at the royal court, and by Xenia's growing obsession to have