On his last trip to China Bob Ripley learned to his amazement that a Chinese law forbids anyone to play one of  the most beautiful song ever written, The Barcarolle from the Tales of Hoffman. But in all China he could find no one to give him an explanation. This made him more determined than ever to find the answer and finally his travels took him to Vienna where he was fortunate enough to uncover the complete story of The Barcaolle from the beginning...