In 1625 France, a poor young nobleman named d'Artagnan leaves his parents in
Gascony and travels to
Paris to join the
Musketeers of the Guard. At an inn in
Meung-sur-Loire, an older man derides d'Artagnan's horse. Insulted, d'Artagnan demands a duel with him. The older man's companions beat d'Artagnan unconscious with a cooking pot and a metal tong that breaks his sword. His
letter of introduction to
Monsieur de Tréville, the commander of the Musketeers, is stolen. D'Artagnan resolves to avenge himself upon the man (later revealed to him as
Comte de Rochefort, an agent of
Cardinal Richelieu, who is in Meung to pass orders from the Cardinal to
Milady de Winter, another of his agents). In Paris, d'Artagnan visits de Tréville at the headquarters of the Musketeers, but the meeting is overshadowed by the loss of his letter, and de Tréville politely refuses his application. He does, however, write a letter of introduction to an academy for young gentlemen, which may prepare him for recruitment at a later time. From de Tréville's window, d'Artagnan sees Rochefort passing in the street below and rushes out of the building to confront him, but in doing so he separately causes offence to three of the Musketeers,
Athos,
Porthos, and
Aramis, who each demand satisfaction; d'Artagnan must duel each of them in turn that afternoon. When the three friends learn that d'Artagnan is a virgin they refuse to fight him. At this point, Cardinal Richelieu's guards appear and try to arrest d'Artagnan and the three Musketeers for illegal dueling. Although outnumbered, the four men win the battle. D'Artagnan seriously wounds Jussac, one of the Cardinal's officers and a renowned fighter. After learning of this event, King Louis XIII appoints d'Artagnan to des Essart's company of the King's Guards and gives him forty
pistoles. D'Artagnan falls in
love at first sight with the pretty, young and married Constance Bonacieux. She works for the Queen Consort of France,
Anne of Austria, who is secretly conducting an affair with the
Duke of Buckingham. The Queen has received a gift of diamond studs from her husband
Louis XIII. Anne gives the diamonds to her lover as a keepsake. Cardinal Richelieu, who wants war between France and England, plans to expose the tryst. He persuades the King to demand that the Queen wear the diamonds to a soirée that the Cardinal is sponsoring. Constance tries to send her cowardly husband to London, but the man is manipulated by Richelieu and does not go. D'Artagnan and his friends intercede. En route they are repeatedly attacked by the Cardinal's henchmen, and only d'Artagnan and Planchet reach London. Before their arrival, d'Artagnan is compelled to assault and nearly kill the Comte de Wardes, who is a friend of the Cardinal, a cousin of Rochefort, and Milady's lover. Although two of the diamond studs have been stolen by Milady, the Duke of Buckingham is able to provide replacements while delaying the thief's return to Paris. D'Artagnan is thus able to return a complete set of jewels to Queen Anne just in time to save her honor. He receives from her a beautiful ring as an expression of her gratitude. Shortly afterwards, d'Artagnan begins an affair with Madame Bonacieux. Arriving for one of their assignations, he notices signs of a struggle and discovers that Rochefort and M. Bonacieux, acting under the orders of the Cardinal, have assaulted and imprisoned her. D'Artagnan retrieves his friends, who have just recovered from their injuries, and brings them back to Paris. D'Artagnan meets
Milady de Winter officially, and recognizes her as one of the Cardinal's agents from Meung, but this does not deter him. D'Artagnan becomes infatuated with the beautiful lady, but her handmaiden reveals that Milady is indifferent toward him. Entering her quarters in the dark, he pretends to be the Comte de Wardes and trysts with her. He finds a
fleur-de-lis branded on Milady's shoulder, marking her as a felon. Discovering his identity, Milady attempts to kill him, but d'Artagnan eludes her. He is ordered to the
siege of La Rochelle. He is informed that the Queen has rescued Constance from prison. In an inn, the musketeers overhear the Cardinal asking Milady to murder the Duke of Buckingham, a supporter of the Protestant rebels at
La Rochelle who has sent troops to assist them. Richelieu gives her a letter that excuses her actions as under orders from the Cardinal himself, but Athos takes it from her. The next morning, Athos bets that he, d'Artagnan, Porthos, and Aramis, and their servants can hold the recaptured St. Gervais bastion against the rebels for an hour. They resist for an hour and a half before retreating, killing 22 Rochellese in total. They warn Lord de Winter and the Duke of Buckingham. Milady is imprisoned on arrival in England but seduces her guard, Felton (a fictionalization of the real
John Felton), and persuades him to allow her escape and to kill Buckingham himself. On her return to France, Milady hides in a convent where Constance is also staying. The naive Constance clings to Milady, who sees a chance to avenge herself on d'Artagnan. Milady fatally poisons Constance before d'Artagnan can rescue her. The Musketeers apprehend Milady before she can reach the protection of Cardinal Richelieu. They bring an official executioner, put her on trial and sentence her to death. After her execution, the four friends return to the siege of La Rochelle. The Comte de Rochefort arrests d'Artagnan and takes him straight to the Cardinal. When questioned about Milady's execution, d'Artagnan presents her letter of pardon as his own. The Cardinal laughs at this arrogance, but he is impressed with d'Artagnan's wilfulness. Secretly glad to be rid of the treacherous Milady, the Cardinal destroys the letter and writes a new order, giving the bearer a promotion to lieutenant in de Treville's company of musketeers, leaving the name blank. D'Artagnan then offers the letter to Athos, Porthos, and Aramis in turn, but each refuses it proclaiming d'Artagnan the most worthy among them.. ==Cast==