Austria during the final days of the Habsburg Empire. On a stormy night, an unconscious, heavily pregnant woman is found in the woods of Maxhausen. She is quickly taken to a forest cabin, where she gives birth to her baby shortly thereafter. She dies soon after. The woman was carrying a considerable amount of cash. The newborn is baptized Eva and placed in the care of the Maxhausen estate manager. Eva is six years old when the Archduchess moves into the castle with her children—a boy, Peperl, and a girl, Poldi. The two high-born children quickly become friends with Eva. World War I breaks out in 1914, bringing with it the primal catastrophe of the European continent.