Alphonse, an accordion-playing ex-clown, is hired by the Baron to spy on his wife, for whom, unknown to the Baron, he is already working. The intricate shadow-play that ensues moves at a pace that quickly blurs the distinctions between jokes and lies, art and evidence, until with a final tug at the strings the characters - barons, clowns, art students, art collectors, film-makers, restaurateurs - are brought into unexpected alignment with their several objects of desire
