Baron Yves de Kerfunte learns of his uncle's death. Overjoyed, he is astonished to discover that seven other individuals are vying for the inheritance. Worse still, when they open the will, they learn that only the elderly Louise de Kerfunte is the heiress, and that she intends to squander the money quickly.

The tormented loves of the young Ottavio, first for the countess Gamiani and then for the writer Georges Sand.