Her Birthright Was Stolen. Her Dignity Taken. Her Rights Denied. Deception Was The Only Option. In late 18th Century France, a young aristocratic woman Jeanne de la Motte-Valois (Hilary Swank) is tragically orphaned by her parents, direct descendants of Henry II. Her only inheritance being a tattered genealogical chart proving her noble origins. Penniless, she leaves her adoptive home to avenge her family's fall from grace, discovering along the way that her family were torn apart by treacherous royal politics preceding the French Revolution. With the help of Retaux de Villette (Simon Baker) she conspires to steal a spectacular 28,000 carat diamond necklace, in order to buy back the land seized from her family. Based on true events, this sexy, period drama is full of intrigue, passion, lies, conspiracy and treason, with excellent performances from an all-star cast including Jonathan Pryce and Christopher Walken.