The story takes place in a circus in Paris in the 1970's. Much is made of the romance of the circus atmosphere, of flying through the air on a trapeze etc. We're talking about Old World riffs on the romance and tawdriness of the ring. There are no elephants in tutus walking on their hind legs in this circus; but there are slit-eyed jugglers, daring death-loving trapeze artists and sad Pierrot clowns; though the Pierrot clown – our hero, Torinosu, *does* have a false red nose. The tawdriness comes from the circus master pimping out his performers to anyone willing to pay. Decadence is strife...