ðə stˈoːɹi ɪz nɚɹˈeɪɾᵻd baɪ ɐn ɑːmnˈɪʃənt nˈæɹeɪɾɚ, hˌuː tˈɛlz ðə ɹˈiːdɚ mˈɛni θˈɪŋz wˌɪtʃ ðə kˈæɹɪktɚz hæv nˈoʊ wˈeɪ ʌv nˈoʊɪŋ sˈʌtʃ ɐz hˌaʊ ˈɑːlɪviɚ də nˈɔɪən, dˈɪlɪdʒəntli sˈɜːtʃɪŋ fɔːɹ ˈeɪntʃənt mˈænjuːskɹˌɪpts, nˈæɹoʊli mˈɪst fˈaɪndɪŋ ðɪ ˈoʊnli kˈɑːpi ʌvðə kˌɔːɹɪspˈɑːndəns bᵻtwˌiːn mˈænlɪəs ænd soʊfˈiə, wˌɪtʃ kˌʊdɐv bɪkˌʌm ɐ klˈæsɪk kˈɑːmpɚɹəbəl tə ðə lˈɛɾɚz ʌv ˈeɪbəlˌɑːɹd ænd hˈeɪləˌiːs, ænd hˌaʊ ðɪs mˈænjuːskɹˌɪpt wʌz ɪɹᵻvˈɑːkəbli lˈɔst ɪn ɐ fˈaɪɚ fˈɪfti jˈɪɹz lˈeɪɾɚ; ɔːɹ hˌaʊ ˈæftɚ dʒˈuːliən bˈɑːɹnuːvz dˈɛθ, ðə fˈoʊɾoʊ ʌv hɪz dʒˈuːɪʃ bᵻlˈʌvd wʌz kˈɛɹləsli θɹˈoʊn ɐwˈeɪ wˌaɪl ðə wˈʊmən hɜːsˈɛlf wʌz sˈɛnt baɪ ðə nˈɑːtsɪz tʊ ˈaʊʃwɪts.
The story is narrated by an omniscient narrator, who tells the reader many things which the characters have no way of knowing such as how Olivier de Noyen, diligently searching for ancient manuscripts, narrowly missed finding the only copy of the correspondence between Manlius and Sophia, which could have become a classic comparable to the letters of Abelard and Héloïse, and how this manuscript was irrevocably lost in a fire fifty years later; or how after Julien Barneuve's death, the photo of his Jewish beloved was carelessly thrown away while the woman herself was sent by the Nazis to Auschwitz.