The Russian singer and dancer Vera Opalinska performs as Arlette in Paris in the 1920s and is a star there. Next is a tour of the USA. After a last celebrated show, the contract is to be signed. During the negotiations, the new PR agent inquires about her biography. Vera remembers the love of her life, which she has been looking for for years. She tells him about the encounter with the brave knight Dimitri in the summer of 1914. He rescued her from a precarious situation at a ball in Warsaw. The Russian prince Paul made her advances and harassed her in a private salon. When Dimitri steps in, Prince Paul, the uncle of the emperor of Russia, has him arrested and imprisoned.