Sir Percival Blakeney (Anthony Andrews) is an English aristocrat during the height of the French Revolution. He is also, however, the Scarlet Pimpernel, a man responsible for rescuing many French aristocrats from the guillotine. Together with his band of mostly English followers, the Scarlet Pimpernel rescues many an aristocrat. While planning the rescue of the Dauphin, the heir to the throne of France, Blakeney also meets and marries Marguerite St. Just (Jane Seymour). Unfortunately for Blakeney, a former suitor of Marguerite is Paul Chauvelin (Ian McKellen), who is also one of Robespierre's (Richard Morant) top agents in charge of discovering the Pimpernel's identity. All of this complicates the life of the Scarlet Pimpernel.