Désirée

In Marseille, 1794, Désirée Clary befriends Corsican Joseph Bonaparte and his younger brother Napoleon when they call on her family. The two brothers are quick to charm Désirée and her sister Julie. Napoleon even hints that the Bonaparte lads need the rich dowries of the Clary sisters.

Désirée later learns that Napoleon has been arrested and taken to Paris. The news creates uncertainty about the Bonapartes as they navigate the volatile period. The family fate becomes linked to the shifting politics of revolutionary France.

Napoleon returns to Marseille and tells Désirée he has been cleared of all charges but must track Bourbon royalists in Paris. Désirée begs him to abandon the Army and join her brother in business, but he scoffs at the idea and instead proposes marriage. Désirée accepts and lends Napoleon the money to return to Paris.

Désirée is informed that Napoleon is now engaged to Joséphine de Beauharnais. In the same milieu, General Bernadotte enters Désirée's life and is taken with her, adding a new emotional complication to the romance. The developments set up a competing future for Désirée and the Bonapartes.

Distraught by Napoleon's engagement, Désirée contemplates ending her life. Bernadotte, who has fallen in love with her, intervenes and prevents her from acting on her despair. The moment deepens their flawed, hopes-filled relationship.

In 1797, Napoleon emerges as France's leading general and conquers Italy, while Désirée stays in Rome with Julie and Joseph. She grows tired of Roman life and plans to return to Paris, where she encounters Napoleon again, now married to Josephine. Bernadotte publicly declares his love and asks for her hand in marriage.

By July 4, 1799, Désirée and Bernadotte are married and have begun their life together with a son, Oscar. They settle into married life as the political world continues to swirl around them. The union places Désirée on the path toward a future she never anticipated.

On November 9, 1799, Napoleon is proclaimed First Consul and invites Bernadotte to join his Council of State, a request Bernadotte accepts. The two men move within the same orbit of power as Europe convulses under revolutionary change. Désirée watches these political shifts from the sidelines.

Five years after becoming First Consul, Napoleon proclaims himself Emperor and secures the coronation that cements his lifelong ambition. The ceremony elevates Napoleon's authority and reshapes European politics. Désirée observes the spectacle from Paris as a reluctant witness to history.

In 1809, Napoleon divorces Josephine and settles into a new alliance by marrying Marie Louise of Austria. Désirée offers quiet comfort to Josephine, her former rival, during this personal upheaval. The shift signals a new era of imperial politics and domestic rearrangements.

Accords from King Charles XIII of Sweden proposed Bernadotte as heir to the Swedish throne, an offer that astonishes Désirée. She nonetheless supports her husband in the face of this startling potential future. The move foreshadows their eventual exile from Paris.

Désirée relocates to Stockholm but finds it difficult to fit into the royal circle. She longs for home even as she remains married to Bernadotte and bound by his new obligations. The distance from Paris and Napoleon's orbit isolates her from her past life.

Eight months after Désirée's move, Paris hosts a ball where Napoleon flaunts his young son, Napoleon II, and issues veiled threats about Bernadotte's alliance with Russia. He proclaims plans that hint at a brutal invasion of Russia. The political tension underscores Désirée's precarious position between two men who shaped her fate.

During the War of the Sixth Coalition, Bernadotte leads armies that overwhelm Napoleon, and a triumphant general reunites with Désirée before returning to Sweden. The couple's fortunes rise as Napoleon's power wanes. Désirée contemplates the consequences of a life divided by revolutions and rulers.

After Waterloo, Napoleon retreats with his personal army to the Château de Malmaison. Allied representatives ask Désirée to speak with Napoleon, urging him to surrender. She persuades him to accept exile on Saint Helena, and he gives her his sword as a final gesture, insisting that her dowry was not the sole reason for his early proposal.