The curtain rises over the Venice of the classical Baroque, the city of acrobats and hired murderers, where words are weapons and fencing is an art. In this setting, Armand Raynal de Maupertuis and Don Lope de Villalobos y Sangrín are truly masters. One hails from Gascony, a poet, a braggart with a sharp blade, and as cunning as a fox. The other is an Andalusian, a formidable duelist, a proud Hidalgo, and as fierce as a wolf. These two gentlemen, who are merely in search of fame, honor, and wealth, stumble into a treasure hunt that will lead them to the ends of the earth. Ayroles and Masbou skillfully weave love, hope, Copernican science, and not least, romantic poetry into a spirited tale full of twists and turns.