The night of August 24, 1572, is known as the Massacre of St. Bartholomew. In France a religious war is raging. In order to impose peace a forced wedding is arranged between Margot de Valois, sister of the immature Catholic King Charles IX, and the Huguenot King Henri of Navarre. Henri’s mother Catherine of Medici maintains her behind-the-scenes power by ordering assaults, poisonings, and instigations to incest.