The infamous Countess Erzsebet Bathory (said to have maintained youth and beauty by bathing in the blood of virgins) has her life story told in a more balanced but still provocative manner. Bathory is portrayed in three important episodes from her life. She falls in love with the legendary artist Caravaggio, which doesn't amuse her husband Ferenc Nadasy. Later, Bathory becomes close friends with Darvulia, a woman with remarkable healing powers. After the death of her husband, Bathory rises to a position of political power in Hungary, as Palatine Thurzo leads a plot to scuttle her ambitions.