Wolfgang von Kempelen in 1770s Austria - a machine that could outwit any opponent at chess. Von Kempelen wants the Empress Maria Therese to invest in some of his inventions and so to impress her court he invents an ingenious cabinet - the first chess-playing computer. But what no one knows is that inside the cabinet is a real chess player - dwarf and local watchmaker Gottfried Neumann. Aided by his young assistant Jakob, Von Kempelen and the dwarf defeat all comers at chess - but his enemies and rivals at court suspect there's something fishy about the chess machine and are determined to expose him, planting a beautiful spy in Von Kempelen's household. Meanwhile, the dwarf has fallen in love...