Ryno de Marigny (Fu’ad Ait Aattou) is set to marry the love of his life, the genteel Hermangarde (Roxane Mesquida). But rumors of his decade-long relationship with the local lady of the night, Vellini (Asia Argento), give Hermangarde’s grandmother, the Marquise de Flers (Claude Sarraute), cause for concern. Attempting to ease her mind, de Flers urges de Marigny to relay the story of his torrid relationship with Vellini.

But the fact that the characters’ actions are not consistent with their natures makes the story an implausible one. The womanizing de Marigny forgoes his pick of Parisian women for an unremarkable, borderline psychotic Spaniard. The virtuous Hermangarde falls for penniless playboy de Marigny. And grandmother de Flers, who claims to love her progeny more than herself, actually entertains the notion of letting her granddaughter marry a man who’s obviously still smitten with his mistress of 10 years. Plus, Vellini’s literal taste for blood makes her more vampire vixen than 19th-century courtesan.

It is only de Marigny’s convincing internal struggle over whether he should remain faithful to Hermagarde or regress to the animalistic passion that awaits him in Vellini’s bed that makes viewers wonder which woman will be saved for last.