I 1708 er England i krig med Frankrig. Den småskøre dronning Anne sidder på tronen, men hader at regere og vil hellere spise kage og lege med sine 17 kaniner. Landet er reelt styret af hendes hemmelige elskerinde, hertuginden Sarah Churchill. Da Sarah's fattige kusine Abigail Hill bliver kammerpige, begynder en skamløs, bitter og grotesk strid mellem dem.
Illusionisten Eisenheim har succes med sine forestillinger på teatret i Wien, men den pragmatiske kronprins Leopold bryder sig ikke om hans numre. Han hyrer derfor politikchefen Uhl til at undersøge Eisenheim nærmere. Efterforskningen bringer Uhl på sporet af et gådefuldt mord og et komplot mod kejseren selv.
Den unge Georgiana gifter sig med greven af Devonshire og bliver hurtigt en populær skikkelse i 1800-tallets celebre selskabsliv. Samtidig gør hun sig gældende som politisk aktivist. På hjemmefronten domineres hendes liv af en kontrolerende mand, der ikke gør noget for at skjule sin utroskab. Da hun indleder et forhold til adelsmanden Charles, erfarer hun, at der er stor forskel på mænd og kvinders rettigheder.
In 1830s France, pianist/composer Frédéric Chopin is pursued romantically by the determined, individualistic woman who uses the name George Sand.
Wealthy passengers fogged in at London's Heathrow Airport fight to survive a variety of personal trials.
General Montriveau, having returned from the Napoleonic Wars in despair, quickly becomes enamored with Duchess Langeais. Across a series of nocturnal visitations, the Duchess mercilessly toys with her hot-tempered suitor, as the machinations of a shadowy conspiracy unfold in the background.
The Duchess of Aragon is wooed by King Ferdinand VII of Spain, much to the displeasure of his mistress Countess Veya, who forces the Duchess out of Spain and into Puerto Rico, where she is forced to behave in very unladylike manners, such as riding horses like a cowboy, and dueling with and fending off various brigands and bandits.
The French Surete and private eye Higgins are after a killer who uses innocent young Americans in a crooked gambling racket, and who sets sail on an ocean liner that also carries inept scoutmaster Freddie Hunter and his troop of boys. Freddie, who's been a "boy scout" too long, has designs on gorgeous Duchess Alexandria. The boys, far better organized than Freddie, are determined to save him from himself. But who will save Freddie from being the killer's next victim?
In this romantic comedy, an aspiring socialite heads for a vacation in Monte Carlo where she befriends a wealthy widowed duchess and then begins blackmailing her after she steals a scandalous letter.