Cousin Pons

Sylvain Pons is an ageing musician who lives modestly in Paris with his devoted German friend Schmucke. His relatives tolerate him because he brings gifts and accepts invitations to dinner, but they regard him as an embarrassing dependent. When they discover that the pictures and antiques in his crowded apartment form a valuable collection, their contempt turns into an effort to control his property.

After Pons becomes seriously ill, his concierge Madame Cibot conspires with dealers, a lawyer and members of the Camusot family to profit from his collection and alter the destination of his estate. Schmucke tries to protect Pons but is too trusting to resist the legal and financial manoeuvres surrounding them. Pons’s death leaves his friend exposed to further deception as inheritance law becomes another weapon in the struggle for the collection.