Vanessa Redgrave, Christopher Plummer, Franco Nero, Marthe Keller, Maximilian Schell and Julia Ormond star in this powerful tale of two women: one mother to an empire; one destined to overpower her. The year is 1744, and a young woman (Ormond) is torn from her homeland to marry the heir to the Russian throne. But his mother Elizabeth (Redgrave: Orpheus Descending, Murder on the Orient Express) rules the Empire with an iron hand, while her son proves neither fit for the throne nor the marriage be