Upon returning from a hunting expedition, King Louis XIV feels a sharp pain in his leg. He begins to die, surrounded by loyal followers in the royal chambers.
Madame de Dumeval, the Duke de Tesis and the Duke de Wand, libertines expelled from the court of Louis XVI, seek the support of the Duc de Walchen, German seducer and freethinker, lonely in a country where hypocrisy and false virtue reign.