In fin de siècle Paris, Elena Sokorowska Ingrid Bergman, a young, beautiful, and free-spirited Polish princess, believes that the daisies she gives to her lovers help them rise to power, and that she can move from one romance to the next as soon as they achieve their ambitions. After she dumps a composer who has just learned his opera is to be staged at La Scala, Elena's aunt informs Elena that her family has run out of money, so, in order to save them, she agrees to marry Martin-Michaud, a wealthy, older shoe manufacturer. No sooner has she agreed to this engagement, than she meets the dashing Count Henri de Chevincourt Mel Ferrer during a Bastille Day celebration.
Sparks fly between Elena and Henri, but when he introduces her to his friend, the famous General François Rollan Jean Marais, the General is quite taken with her as well, even though he is being pursued by Paulette Escoffier Magali Noël. By the end of the day, Elena finds herself torn between her vow to Martin-Michaud, her feelings for Henri, and her admiration for the General.
To complicate matters, General Rollan's political advisers see the General's romantic interest in Elena as a potential lever to nudge him toward seizing control of the government, a plan about which he has so far shown ambivalence. Henri manages to persuade Elena to help with the plot, and, once promised that the General will enact policies favorable to his business, the calculating Martin-Michaud releases her from their engagement. Elena advises the General how to resolve a diplomatic dispute between France and Germany, and, when he succeeds, the General becomes more popular than ever. Thinking her work with the General is done, Elena and Henri go to dinner, but she is puzzled when he reveals that his greatest ambition is to do nothing at all.
Wary of rumors about a coup, the French government posts the General to the remote Bourbon-Salins. On the day of an election, Elena arrives in the town, and the General, who has been placed under house arrest, escapes to be with her. As word arrives that the General has won the election, the pro-government secret police, along with a crowd that supports him, surround the brothel where the General and Elena are hiding. Henri, hoping to win Elena's heart, manages to get inside, and a plan is set in motion to help the General slip past the police and head for Paris. The General and Henri switch clothes, and Elena and Henri stand in a window while the General, reluctant to leave Elena, escapes unnoticed. He is surprised to find Paulette, who had come to Bourbon-Salins with Henri, in the wagon that is meant to take him to the train station, and he impulsively agrees to abandon his political obligations and ride with her to the south of France. Meanwhile, back at the brothel, Henri suggests that Elena and he pretend to kiss to calm the crowd outside, and, in a turn of events, the act becomes real.
