In 1840, a young Russian aristocrat, Dimitri Sanin, is returning home after a long tour of Europe. In Germany, he falls in love with a beautiful pastry shop girl, Gemma Rosselli, who soon starts sharing his feelings. They decide to get married and, in order to finance the wedding, Dimitri goes back to Russia to sell his family estate. Unfortunately he falls prey to a seductress, Princess Maria Nikolaevna, who pretends to be willing to buy his land to come nearer him. Now Sanin is in a fix: should he choose the pure Gemma or the evil but irresistible Maria?
Timothy Hutton
as Dimitri Sanin
Nastassja Kinski
as Maria Nikolaevna Polozov
Valeria Golino
as Gemma Rosselli
William Forsythe
as Prince Ippolito Polozov
Pietro Bontempo
as Man With Glasses
Jerzy Skolimowski
as Wiktor Wiktorowicz
Xavier Maly
as Pulcinella
Urbano Barberini
as Baron Von Doenhof
Francesca De Sapio
as Mrs. Rosselli
Jacques Herlin
as Pantaleone
Antonio Cantafora
as Richter
Krzysztof Janczar
as Klueber
