Johann Friedrich von Allmen, elegant gentleman, playboy and art collector, has managed over the years to blow the millions he inherited from his father. After selling off his grand estate, he moves into the modest gardener's residence with his worldly-wise Guatemalan factotum Carlos. He is as expert in his dealings with debts and creditors as he is bad with money. Then, after a tipsy night at the opera, a voracious young woman called Jojo drags him off to her father's lakeside villa, where he discovers a collection of five enchanting Art Nouveau bowls, each one worth a small fortune. And each one encumbered with a secret. A challenge, which could give him the chance to grow as a person, or one that could cost him his life.