The act of impulsively throwing a stone through a window sparks off a chain of memories from Casanova. He thinks back on his Venetian prison experiences while watching 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 is drawn to a pious young woman he sees at a Vivaldi concert and seduces her compulsively despite his friend Valenglart's warnings.
—Peter Brynmor Roberts