Thomas and Alfred were born around the same time; a fire in the nursery had nurses scrambling to save the newborns. Because he felt that he deserved Alfred s good fortune at being born into a wealthy family, Thomas conceives the idea that he and Alfred were switched at birth, and he can t help seeing that his unhappiness should be Alfred s, from the loss of his sister to his inability to have a relationship with the woman Evelyne. So, as his life is ending, he formulates a plan of revenge against his bitter enemy, his lifetime adversary, the man who stole his existence.