When Helen cures the King of France of an ailment that has confounded every other doctor, he grants her lifetime wish: the marital hand of the aristocratic courtier Bertram. However, Bertram proves a reluctant husband and immediately heads off to war, leaving Helen with a seemingly impossible riddle to solve in order to seal their marriage.

Blinded by jealousy, King Leontes falsely accuses his pregnant wife of infidelity, setting into motion a series of catastrophes that will destroy his wife and son and leave his infant daughter abandoned to the elements on a distant island. Sixteen years later, the king receives an unlikely chance at redemption.