Mario and Lucien are twins who share a psychic bond:one feels the pain and experiences the thoughts of the other. The siblings are separated at birth because of a long-standing feud between various factions of their family. One twin is raised to be evil, the other to be good. In adulthood, the brothers become bitter enemies, not only because of family and political pressures but also because they both fall in love with the beautiful Isabelle.. Eventually, however, one twin gives up his life for the sake of the other during a climactic battle with tyrannical Corsican ruler Colonna..