Based on a true story, Saraband for Dead Lovers was the first colour feature from the famous Ealing Studios. It tells the tragic story of Sophie Dorothea, a young girl forced into a loveless marriage with King George 1 of England, a cruel and ruthless monarch. Sophie Dorothea's bleak existence is transformed when the manipulative Countess von Platen, an influential figure in the royal court, adopts a handsome young protegee, Count Philip Konigsmark. However, in a world where the monarch wields the power, Sophie Dorothea and Konigsmark's forbidden passion places them in danger, for if their betrayal is discovered, they must face the wrath of the king.