Ted Wallis, nicknamed the Hippopotamus, is an aging libertine, a complete cynic and a drinker, ready to sell his soul for a bottle of expensive whiskey. He was once a poet and showed great promise, but now he is mercilessly thrown out of the newspaper for yet another offensive prank. But it is Ted, a brawler and bitter drunkard, who is asked by goddaughter Jane, dying of cancer, to conduct a secret investigation in an aristocratic estate belonging to his school friend. Ted agrees, intrigued by both the generous payment and the whiskey reserves for which the old house is famous. But the task turns out to be much more difficult than he expected - Ted, in fact, does not understand what he needs to look for and where to sniff out. Meanwhile, guests are gathering at the estate, and they all persistently seek the company of young David and just as persistently repeat about a certain Miracle of the Lord. Only the cynically naive Ted needs not God's grace, but another bottle of whiskey, but it is he who will have to deal with the Miracle... An English writer, actor, showman and simply a one-man band, Stephen Fry is one of the most unusual authors writing in English. Paradoxically, it combines an entertaining plot, sophisticated word play, cynicism, warm intonation, absurdism and a very sober outlook on life.