The selfish mistress of a soldier, Zoe, betrays her lover and marries the emperor of Byzantium. She then convinces her husband to banish her lover (and his devoted general) to the isolated castle of Monemvasia . When astrologers predict the end of the world and even specify the exact date, the now empress Zoe, instead of holding her position and supporting her husband, prefers to spend the last days of her life with her former lover.