A bohemian operetta, full of turmoil and confusion. The complicated yet light-hearted plot is all about making everyone jealous of everyone else. The story begins in a hotel in Tsarist Russia. One by one, guests arrive: the Parisian singer Sybill, Poire, the artist's impresario, and Sarah, Poire's wife. The Grand Duchess, who has accepted an invitation from the city's governor to attend a party in his honour, is also expected. An unexpected guest is Petrov, a Moscow bodyguard who has escaped fro...