Banished from 12th-Century England for wanting to marry against his father's wishes, Ivanhoe joins Richard the Lionheart on a crusade in the Holy Land. On his return, his passionate desire is to be reunited with the beautiful but forbidden lady Rowena, but he soon finds himself playing a more dangerous game as he is drawn into a bitter power struggle between the noble King Richard and his evil and scheming brother John, who has usurped the throne. Based on the novel by Sir Walter Scott.