Christmas 1877: It is the 40th birthday of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. In her role as representative at the side of her husband Emperor Franz Joseph, she is not allowed to express any opinions, but must forever remain the beautiful young empress. To meet this expectation, she adheres to a rigid plan of starvation, exercise, hairdressing, and daily waist measurements. But Elisabeth is an inquisitive and ambitious woman whose resistance to the larger-than-life image of herself is growing and who no longer wants to live in a courtly corset.