The formerly great Swiss hotel which Valentin's family owned when he was a boy has been emptied and is about to be torn down. He revisits the magical site's empty halls and ballrooms in order to relive his fond memories of the place. As he remembers, flashbacks reveal episodes in the lives of those who populated these lodgings. One of the boy's favorite experiences was hearing his grandmother tell how an anarchist assassinated an enemy at the hotel; another favorite story was about the time the famous French stage actress Sarah Bernhardt seduced the boy's grandfather. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi