Anna Constantia von Brockdorff - the Countess of Cosel - rises to become the mistress of Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. After the ruler's death in 1733, his art-loving son Augustus III takes over the regency, but the actual puppet master at the court in Dresden is his influential confidant Heinrich von Brühl. A lack of political skill finally leads Saxony into the Seven Years' War, which ruins the country and dis-empowers the political leadership.—Bernardo74