Nick Gutlicht lives by illegally selling valuable books, owes money to a bunch of other crooks, and must hide from them. By chance he ends up in the mansion of famous and now-elderly philosopher Curt Ledig, who despite age-related forgetfulness and pathological kitchen-phobia doesn't want to move in with his daughter, so the family hires Nick to be Curt's companion. Now Curt can work on a presentation for the upcoming symposium, which nobody thinks he's capable of anymore. Nick thinks he has an excellent hiding place. This partnership of convenience of the two individuals quickly develops its own momentum. Curt regards Nick as an exciting research object and subjects him to an absurd therapy. For Nick it's a unique opportunity to fund his finances with Curt's phenomenal library. Then the strange couple gets into a turmoil of incalculable proportions.