When young wanderer Francesco (Matthew Modine) returns to his Venice home with the hope that the family fortune will still be there to support him, he finds himself caught up in a tangled web of greed and deception. He soons discovers that his wealthy father has squandered the family's money on gambling and owes very penny to a ruthless and cruel German Countess (Faye Dunaway). With nothing to lose and everything to gain, the Countess decides that she wants Francesco for her own desire and proposes one final wager with his father. With the stakes high on the table and the bet on human life inevitable, will the family be torn apart by the final turn of the cards?