The Story starts thus: "And as the stars fall-out of nothing into nothing.......We are born-we live- and we die in the midst of the marvelous."

Karl Breitman, obsessed with the notion that he is a descendant of Napoleon, is driven to restore the monarchy in France. To accomplish this, he courts Hedda Gobert, who, he has learned, possesses Napoleon's papers. Upon winning Hedda, Breitman steals the documents, which lead him to America and the home of Admiral Killigrew where, the papers allege, the emperor's hidden wealth resides.