The novel by Louis Couperus, the Dutch Oscar Wilde, is full of grace in the spirit of Art Nouveau. The story of four generations of an aristocratic family, where almost everyone suffers from a hereditary vice - excessive sensuality, which is why the heroes, despite all their desires, are unable to live a virtuous family life, is not complete without a crime of passion. The main character, the alter ego of Kuperus himself, the writer Lot Paus and his bride, will have to learn about the many skeletons in the closets of this seemingly respectable family.