Grand Duchess Zona, the ruler of Lichtenburg, is trying to escape to France to seek the help of the French emperor to rid her country of General Gurko Lanen, the despotic army head who has seized control of the country. Learning of Zona's plan, Lanen arrests her ally, the prime minister, Baron Von Neuhoff, and orders his troops to stop Zona, but she is rescued by the wealthy Count of Monte Cristo who takes her to safety across the frontier. That night however, Lanen's men kidnap Zona and take her back to Lichtenburg, followed by the count. Zona returns to face a marriage proposal from Lanen and the death sentence of Von Neuhoff. Learning of Lanen's treachery, the count joins the oppressed citizenry to fight for liberation. Masquerading both as the foppish Count of Monte Cristo and the masked liberator known only as "The Torch," the count infiltrates the palace and thwarts Lanen's plans by freeing Von Neuhoff. The count's next task is to prevent Lanen from forming an alliance with both Zona and the Russians. After the count steals a copy of the agreement from Prince Pavlov of Russia which proves Lanen's duplicity, Lanen tricks Zona into revealing the count's true identity. The count is then sentenced to walk to the scaffold at the same time that Zona is to marry Lanen, but Lanen's plans are foiled when Von Neuhoff frees the count and, allied with the citizens of Lichtenburg, he saves Zona and duels Lanen to his death.