Sisi has a serious riding accident on Corfu. To avoid jeopardizing her recovery, Franz hides from her that her father is dying. When she learns of Max's death, she travels to Possenhofen. There she discovers that her father has lost the family seat to jockey Georg Basselet of La Rosée in a horse race. Sisi asks for revenge, but the experienced rider will only agree if the Empress climbs into the saddle herself.

Although Franz has asked her never to ride again, Sisi begins to train secretly for the race against Georg. When the stable master Linda disappears, Sisi finds out that she is Max's illegitimate daughter and thus her half-sister. Meanwhile, Louis is offered the position of Minister of Justice. However, to do so he would have to give up his marriage to the opera singer Henriette. Meanwhile, Sisi's sister Sophie Charlotte is trying to win King Ludwig's heart.

Sisi has managed to persuade Linda to train with the temperamental Avalon and is finally making progress. While this also brings her closer to Georg, Henriette breaks off her inappropriate engagement with Louis so as not to endanger his position at court and as future Minister of Justice. Meanwhile, Sophie Charlotte is supposed to choose a marriage candidate at a festival in Possenhofen. King Ludwig suddenly appears and kisses her in front of everyone. While Sisi is secretly dancing with her betting opponent Georg, Linda's mother Adele, Max's former lover, is found dead.