 The lifestyle of Vicomte Florestan, a dashing but feckless young aristocrat, has left him in severe debt.His uncle, tired off paying off Florestan's debts, has made him promise to get married or go to prison as a bankrupt.Florestan has chosen the arranged marriage; he will be presented to Hélène de Solanges, the rich heiress chosen as his fiancée, that evening at a court ball.