An English noblewoman, a French baron, and a white man raised by Mohawks become unlikely allies on the 18th-century Canadian frontier.
Lady Ann Howard (Mel Martin), an English aristocrat framed for the murder of her husband, escapes to the new world. There, her path crosses with two very different men: the bumbling but noble-hearted French Baron Giffard (Daniel Ceccaldi) and Faucillon (Matt Birman), a rugged frontiersman raised by Mohawks. Together, this improbable trio of fugitives finds themselves caught in the middle of the colonial war between France and England for control of Canada, navigating a landscape filled with peril and intrigue.
The serial is a conscious revival of the classic swashbuckler, deliberately old-fashioned in its construction. Its narrative machinery is driven by sword fights, cliffhangers, and romance, rejecting the gritty revisionism common in the period. The production is distinguished by its blend of straightforward heroism and character-based comedy, with much of the humour stemming from the performance of Daniel Ceccaldi as the well-intentioned but frequently out-of-his-depth Baron. The result is a light-hearted and well-paced adventure, more indebted to historical romance than to serious drama.
Broadcast: HTV, 7 Episodes, 7 June – 19 July 1987
Adapted by: Didier Decoin
Based on the books by: Pierre Nivolet and Jean-Claude Camredon
Directors include: Victor Vicas, Pierre Lary, Alan Kroeker
Executive Producer: Patrick Dromgoole
Producer: Peter Graham Scott
Main Cast: Mel Martin (Lady Ann Howard), Daniel Ceccaldi (Baron Giffard), Matt Birman (Faucillon), Mathieu Carriere (Captain Richter), Douglas Wilmer (Lord Norton)
