Philippe Gaston (Matthew Broderick) is a petty thief. He tries to escape from the dungeon in Aquila when he almost gets caught. A mysterious knight named Captain Etienne Navarre (Rutger Hauer), rescues Philippe and befriends him. Navarre has been on the run for a couple of years, since an evil Bishop (John Wood) is hunting him down. Navarre has escaped with a beautiful woman named Lady Isabeau (Michelle Pfeiffer), with whom the Bishop had a crush. When he realized that he won't have her love, he placed a terrible curse on them that cause Navarre to be a wolf during the night and Lady Isabeau to be a hawk during the day. Navarre begs for Philippe's help to help him to sneak into the heavily guarded fortress and kill the Bishop to regain their freedom and stop the curse.