The product of a love affair between a rich French aristocrat and a black West Indian mother, Chevalier de Saint-Georges arrives in France in 1758. His physical grace and intelligence quickly ensure him social success, and he is on hand for the celebrated festivities at the Palais Royal and Versailles. But when the Revolution comes, he is rejected, and falls into poverty and abjection. His life, however, has had a faithful witness in the person of a slave who came with him from Guadaloupe and remainde by his side until the day of his death.