The young Crown Princess Luise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz grows up sheltered in the North German countryside in the late 18th century and develops into a bit of a rebel. She struggles to come to terms with the rules of etiquette at court; her actions are often spontaneous and driven by emotion. Thus, she resists accepting her father’s mistress and future wife. During a ball, she snubs her future stepmother and even has the audacity to ask the orchestra to play a waltz—a dance considered deeply improper at the time.