Émile Forest, a young Quebec photographer and writer, washes up in Venice. He is put up in a palazzo where a family has gathered for a funeral. With every room taken, he is offered the sofa in the piano nobile — the grand salon at the very heart of the house, and its constant thoroughfare. Sleep, unsurprisingly, proves elusive. Despite himself, Émile becomes a privileged witness to the inner anguish of a motley crowd.