This film traces the birth of the Théatre des Champs-Elysées trought the recollections of Gabriel Astruc, its promoter, and from contemporary press cuttings.
The inauguration in March 1913, the scandal of the premiere of the "Sacre du Printemps", and the final crash, are all milestones in the short history of the theatre which manages to condense such controversial topical themes as art and politics, creation and money, innovation and tradition.
The multiplicity of shadows and the twilight surrounding Astruc's "phantom" are recreated in an expressionist dramatization interspersed with fictional newsreel shots of the period.