 The Milanese nobleman count Andrea Marcosini strolls to the Palais-Royal in Paris, where he spots in the crowd the extraordinary face of a woman with fiery eyes. She tries to escape him, but he chases her as far as a sordid alley behind the Palais-Royal where she disappears. If he is "attached to the step of a woman whose costume announced a deep, radical, ancient, inveterate misery, who was no fairer than so many others he saw each night at the Op ra", it was his eye that was literally spellbound. As soon as he inquires after her he discovers that her name is Marianna and she is married to a composer, performer, instrument-maker and expert on music theory called Gambara   though his music is only beautiful when he is drunk. Marianna sacrifices herself for him, working in humble jobs to pay for their household's upkeep, for she strongly believes in her husband's misunderstood genius. After having tried to save the couple from their miserable existence, to support Gambara from his own means by giving him money (or even worse, by giving him drink), the count finally takes the beautiful Marianna from her husband but then abandons her for a dancer. Marianna then goes back to her husband, more miserable than ever.
Where is the count staying? What kind of work does Gambara do? How does Marianna sacrifice herself for her husband? When is the only time Gambara's music beautiful? Who was Marianna married to? When is the only time the composer's music beautiful? What is the count's name in this story? Who does Count Marcosini abandon Marianna for? When is Gambara's music considered beautiful? Who pays the bills in Gambara's household before Mariana meets Count Marcosini? Who is Marianna left for at the end? Who does Marianna leave her husband for? What happened to Marianna when the count left her? What was the name of the fiery-eyed woman the count Spotted? Where did Andrea Marcosini take a stroll?  Where does the count chase the woman? What does Marianna do after she is left behind? What is the count's name? Besides money what else did the count give Gambara? What does the woman's husband do? Why does Count Marcosini support Gambara and his sordid lifestyle? What is the woman's name? What does he find out about Marianna? How did Marianna feel when she went back to her husband? What did the count decide to do when his money didn't help? Who does he see in the crowd? What is the count's nationality?