Year 1000. At the death of King Henry, Stefano Cunningam seized with the power of power making himself crowned king of England and Scotland. Ten years later, a young Norman, Ivanhoe, returning home from the Holy Land where he fought, finds the nation prey to the violence and cruelty of Stephen and his acolytes. Conducted in prison for his opposition to the usurper, Ivanhoe learns from York, former advisor to King Henry, also held prisoner, that the "Norman sword", symbol of the power of the king of England and Scotland is not in the hands of Stefano, but is guarded by a Scottish clan loyal to the dynasty of Henry.

Florinda Bolkan plays the daughter of a prominant English politician who keeps having recurring "nightmares" in which she makes love to a bisexual nympho who lives downstairs and conducts all-night LSD orgies. When the nocturnal wet dreams become murderous, the neighbor turns up dead, and Florinda is the main suspect. Did she actually commit the murder she dreamt about? Is she being framed by her philandering husband? Did Florinda actually make nightly visits downstairs aside from borrowing the occasional cup of sugar? How DID Florinda's letter opener end up stuck in the dead neighbor's chest anyway? The complex plot unfolds amidst red herrings, outlandish dream sequences, lesbian hanky panky, and ominous close-ups of Florinda Bolkan's guilt-ridden facial expressions every time someone mentions the murder. All this takes place in swinging late-1960's London.