Amidst class stratification and rising tensions among the impoverished populace, the Austrian Empire dispatches Princess Marie Antoinette to France to marry Crown Prince Louis XVI. This political union is arranged to fortify the alliance between the two nations, yet the future queen is profoundly discontent with her destiny being dictated for her. Upon arriving in the country, Marie Antoinette meets Oscar François de Jarjayes, Commander of the Royal Guard. Driven by her father's longing for a son, Oscar is brought up as a boy, expected to succeed to the title of Commander. Although revered by both men and women, Oscar yearns to live as a woman rather than perpetuate the male disguise. As Oscar reluctantly attends to the young, pampered queen, the escalating resentment and hardship of the poor become increasingly difficult to overlook—particularly given Marie Antoinette's reckless expenditure of wealth.