1899. The mood of fin-de-siècle Paris is one of the old order crumbling away, as ancient superstitions are replaced by scientific discoveries. The director of the Théâtre Tragicomique is intent on staging an updated version of Faust to usher in the new century -- and stave off bankruptcy. But some supernatural agency is determined to rewrite the play, striking dead every actor playing the part of Faust. Is it a manifestation of the Devil, as the superstitious believe, a bizarre side-effect of the universe making ways for new laws, as the positivists proclaim, or merely the magic of the theater?