A man at a social gathering asks, "Can you die of love?" In response, we are shown a manuscript that pretends to be the diary and letters from the family of the deceased Mr. d'Avrigny. This story of the king's physician tells the romantic history of Amaury, a rich orphan who lives with Dr. d'Avrigny and two of his lovers, Madeleine and Antoinette. Through diary passages, this interesting tale alternates between the perspective of the man and that of his lovers.