Пред прага на Гражданска война, крал Хенри IV се опитва да обедини кралството си. Младият принц Хал не крие приятелството си със Сър Джон Фалстаф и неговата пиянска компания, в което търси утеха от неразбирателствата с баща си. Както Фалстаф, така и кралят, са стари и уморени - и двамата разчитат на принц Хал в последните години от живота си. Ала младият принц, бъдещият крал Хенри V, има съвсем други амбиции...
We seek to find the inner light of each one and thus turn on new lights, to leave the paths illuminated, so as not to walk blindly and alone. It is having a real awareness of our actions, that our life is a commitment and that if each one of us acts, a great change will be seen in the world. The power of life is to give us existence.
Late 17th Century: Anne de Grandcamp and Lucie de Fontenelle, two little girls from Normandy, arrive at the Saint-Cyr school founded by Madame de Maintenon for educating the daughters of impoverished nobles ruined in wars and making them into free women. Madame de Maintenon is the secret wife of Louis XIV, and empowered by his support, she offers "her" two hundred fifty girls a playful and avant-garde education. Anne and Lucie, two inseparable friends, allow themselves to be carried away by the promise of a bright future. But Maintenon has arrived at the pinnacle of power through scheming and debasing herself and she now fears the fires of hell. She is counting on her model school to atone for her past sins.
Sofía tries to decide which is the most important virtue of all, while Faith, Justice and Charity try to gain her attention.
Vincentio, Duke of Vienna, disgusted by the immorality in his city, announces his withdrawal from public life and leaves his deputy, the puritanical Angelo, in charge. Angelo, in his zeal for observing the letter of the law, begins a ruthless programme to stamp out sexual licence, in the course of which he condemns one Claudio to death. Surely Claudio’s virginal sister Isabella, a novice nun seeking mercy for her brother, could not awake the lust of this cold, censorious man?