France, 1750s; Benjamin has spent his entire childhood and early adolescence in the sole company of his tutor Camille. Now that he is 17, he must go to live with his aunt Countess of Valandry and her lover, a Don Juan, Count Philippe de Saint-Germain, two wealthy aristocrats, at the château de Valandry. When he arrives at his aunt's estate, he is as pure as a boy of his age can be and his relatives' libertine lifestyle comes as a surprise to him. Fortunately for him, there is an abundance of attractive young women who are more than willing to help him make the transition from boyhood to manhood. After all, it is the duty of those who know to teach those who know not. It amuses Benjamin that Comte de Saint-Germain should throw over his mistress and go chasing after a younger woman, Anne, an orphan. Amid the wild revelry of a party, Anne offers herself to Benjamin to complete his initiation in the ways of love - before she takes the count as her husband.