A poetic narrative about the dream and longing for ideal art. The protagonist is a 19-year-old musical genius Joachim (modeled probably after F. Schubert or R. Schumann). A creator inhabiting the borderline between reality and madness. . . or perhaps genius? A man who steers his fate or perhaps merely follows the glamor and darkness of women (such as Clara Wieck, Schumann's wife; Mozart's Constance; or mysterious Rosamund) encountered along the way. Music of the great Romantics provides the backdrop for the story: Mozart's Quintet in A-major, Schubert's Arpeggione Sonata, and Schumann's eponymous Märchenbilder.