When her father dies, Countess Erzsébet Báthory finds herself the head of a vast domain and huge fortune.
Assisted by her confidante Anna Darvulia, Erzsébet progressively expands her influence, giving rise to admiration, fear, and hatred as she becomes the most powerful woman in Hungary at the beginning of the 17th century. Even the king asks for her support in his struggle against the Turks.
It is at this point that she falls madly in love with an attractive young man. After a love affair as brief as it is passionate, the countess finds herself alone was again. Convinced that she has been deserted for a younger, more beautiful rival, Erzsébet progressively sinks into madness and makes up her mind that the blood of young virgins will give her youth and beauty.