France in the 16th century. Head chef Bertrand de Baladoux, cook to the French king, makes his confession. He has poisoned Chancellor Antoine Duprat and King Francis the First, who is at war with the German Emperor Charles the Fifth. But why? What drove this good-natured man to commit such an act? The answer lies in the queen's diary, which she entrusted to the court jester Paltoquet after her early death.