Louis' younger brother Philippe, known as Monsieur, is a free spirit, an effeminate dandy and a ferocious warrior. To prevent him from overshadowing his brother, their mother raised Philippe as a girl and worked to curtail his natural leadership talents. A lover of art and beauty, Philippe walks the gardens of Versailles dressed as a woman and willingly submits to the sexual whims of his lover, Chevalier de Lorraine. On the battlefield, he is a formidable soldier, able to win the support of entire regiments. This does not fail to arouse immense jealousy in his brother. To further complicate matters, Philippe's neglected wife, Henriette, finds herself in Louis' arms.
Philippe has not forgiven Louis for Henriette's death, and has decided to remain in Saint-Cloud, far from Versailles and his brother. But it's a different story for Louis. He needs Philippe close-by, and he must see him married once again: the choice of wife is a major political decision that will enable him to forge new alliances in the war against Holland. So he lures Philippe to Versailles by returning his lover to him, the Chevalier de Lorraine, who he had sent into exile in Italy. Philippe knows that, as is tradition, he has no choice but to accept the woman that Louis will choose for him. A woman who could not be further from the late Henriette: the larger-than-life Liselotte, Princess Palatine. Against all expectations, a bond develops between Philippe and Liselotte. But just as the knight had demonstrated with Henriette, his jealousy knows no bounds.
