Seventeen-year-old Marie's world abruptly collapses when the son of a wealthy farmer reveals to her that he is going to marry someone else. Driven from her father's court by humiliation, Marie enters the service of the mistress of the Duke of Württemberg. As a maid at Brenz Castle, she must fend off the persecutions of the ducal huntsman, who accuses her of theft. Instead of punishing her, Wilhelmine suggests that she join a troupe of traveling actors and spy for them. Marie agrees and is soon caught up in a whirlpool of deadly intrigue.