A jealous stage actor disguises himself as a Russian guardsman in order to test his actress wife's loyalty.

A Vienna based acting couple make magic when they perform together on stage. Unknown to the theater going public and despite being married for only six months, that magic seems no longer to translate to their personal life, where they are constantly arguing, even under their breaths during on-stage curtain calls. These arguments stem from the actress' moody behavior, which the actor believes means that she no longer loves him and that she is looking for another man to replace him in her personal life. He believes she even scans the audience for potential suitors, probably being most attracted to the soldier type. Their feuding is at a point where they take pot shots at each other about everything in their lives, even the quality of the other's acting. The actor may have a valid point as the actress has been receiving bouquets of roses of late and a Russian guardsman has been seen hanging around outside their home. The actor knows these things as he is that Russian guardsman (who is also a Russian prince) in disguise, he who is also sending the flowers as the guardsman. He wants to see if this guardsman can indeed woo his wife away from him, and thus show her for who she really is. He concocts a further scheme to pretend to be out of town for a 24 hour period on another acting engagement, during which time he will try and seduce her as the guardsman. But the actress may throw some wrenches into his plan.—Huggo

An acclaimed actor and his equally acclaimed actress wife, who have been married for less than a year, are already showing signs of strain in their marriage. The actor believes his wife is capable of infidelity and sets out to prove this is so. Disguising himself as the kind of man he believes she fancies (a Russian military officer), the actor woos his wife while she believes him (her husband, that is) to be out of town. The actress shows every sign of succumbing to the "Russian's" advances, yet the husband can never quite put the stamp of certainty on her behavior. The truth eventually reveals itself...or does it?—Jim Beaver <[email protected]>