A young architect, Alquié, is sent by the French government to study a solution to save Venice. His collaborator, an Italian photographer, believes that the Frenchman does not know enough about the soul of the city and its inhabitants to decide on his fate; in order to make him better grasp this ambiguity, he uses the charms of Marina, a young idle countess whom he seduced easily. This one, enigmatic like the city, frequents the two men until the day when her mother decides to marry her to a very wealthy compatriot, more interesting for the nobility of his ancestors than for his personal value. Understanding that the Venetians prefer to ossify and preserve their outdated traditions, Alquié leaves, disgusted, Marina and Venice.