In the kingdom of Illyria, a nobleman named Orsino lies around listening to music, pining away for the love of Lady Olivia. He cannot have her because she is in mourning for her dead brother and refuses to entertain any proposals of marriage. Meanwhile, off the coast, a storm has caused a terrible shipwreck. A young, aristocratic-born woman named Viola (played by Toni Clair) is swept onto the Illyrian shore. Finding herself alone in a strange land, she assumes that her twin brother, Sebastian.