The act of impulsively throwing a stone through a window sparks a chain of memories from Casanova. He reflects on his Venetian prison experiences as he witnesses the torture and execution of Robert-François Damiens, would-be assassin of Louis XV, from the window of a Parisian apartment. Later, in Grenoble, his memories of both occasions haunt him as he's drawn to a pious young woman he sees at a Vivaldi concert and seduces her compulsively despite his friend Valenglart's warnings.