In France, prior to Louis XIV ascending the throne, a young baroness is forced to marry against her will and is caught up in a web of treachery and murder, threatening her and her husband, whom she has come to love deeply.

In the 18th Century, John Cavendish, a Scottish adventurer, arrives in Tuscany and makes his fortune from his expert knowledge of botany and agriculture. In the present day, Marcus Cavendish, an American painter and playboy with mounting debts, receives a letter from Chiara Conti, an Italian solicitor, who reveals to him that he is of the Cavendish blood line. She tells him that he is the heir of Peter Cavendish, the last descendant of John Cavendish. Believing that this potential fortune may solve his money problems - and may even sort his head out - Marcus travels to Tuscany to get his inheritance. Having arrived at Cavendish Castle, Marcus thinks he has solved all of his problems, but discovers that he has to fight an ancient evil that has tormented his family for centuries, so he realizes that money, property and land mean little when faced with a blood curse as a surprise inheritance.