Count Olgierd Łabiński lives with his beloved wife in Paris in a beautiful palace. The Countess recalls her stay in Florence and her insistent admirer Octavius de Saville. Soon, Octavius, arrives in Paris and calls for the famous Dr. Cherbonneau, suspected of being a charlatan. Citing the teachings of the East, Cherbonneau offers the patient an "avatar", a reincarnation of the soul, which takes a different body...