In 1852, the young Austrian emperor Franz Joseph persuades his friend, Count Michel de Thalberg, to act as a go-between in his love affair with the Bavarian duchess Elisabeth. Not long after his arrival in Munch, Thalberg has an embarrassing encounter in a public garden with an attractive young woman. The innocent incident is misinterpreted by a passer-by who, recognising the woman as the youngest daughter of Ludwig Tomasini, a highly respected caterer, persuades her father that she should marry the man who flirted with her to avoid a scandal (FilmsdeFrance).

Munich, 1852. Le fils de l'ambassadeur d'Autriche, Michel de Thalberg, est sommé d'épouser une demoiselle Tomasini, qu'il a compromise. Mais c'est Thérèse Tomasini, la sœur ainée, qu'il aime. La princesse Elisabeth arrange cette affaire malencontreuse et fait célébrer le mariage en même temps que ses noces avec François-Joseph.