It’s the summer of 1914. At 75 years of age, King Carol I, the founder of modern Romania, has retired to the Peles Castle. Queen Elisabeth, his devoted wife and trusted friend, is at his side. The monarch deals with the physical nuisances of old age with pride. But these are nothing compared to his moral torment. Carol I is in a difficult situation: his honour and his family roots urge him to enter the war on the side of Germany and Austria-Hungary; but the public opinion demands that the country stays neutral. The old king plays his last card in the Crown Council. He attempts to persuade the people’s representatives to vote in favour of entering the war on the side of the Central Powers.