A man by the name of Vusoti is a very famous violin maker in Italy. He demands the highest quality in every instrument bearing his name. He demands nothing less than perfection from all his workers, yet of course, he is the most skilled. His wife is pregnant carrying their first child. To ease her wariness, he shows her his masterpiece that he will bestow upon their newborn child. It is a very special violin. It is perfect in every way. Vusoti assures his wife that their child will grow up to be a very skilled violinist. But, the path that awaits the violin is one that only their servant, Cesca, can see.
Everywhere the violin goes, misfortune follows. The story begins with a young boy named Kasper Weiss who is living with monks in a monastery. Though he is very young, he plays the violin given to him with amazing talent. A man by the name of Poussin is summoned to the monastery to view this phenomenon. After witnessing this young boys amazing gift, he opts to bring Kasper Weiss to Vienna to become his apprentice. Poussin trains and teaches Kasper day in and day out, despite a heart problem of the child. Poussin's ultimate goal is for the boy to audition in the salon of the Baron. The Viennese prince is looking for an apprentice of his own to accompany him on his travels. Unfortunately, just before Kasper begins to play, he suffers a heart attack and dies on the Barons floor. This is a tragic loss of talent. Even though Poussin mourns Kasper, he knows he can fetch a fair price for the boy's violin from the Baron. Unfortunately, the monks bury it with him. .
After that, gypsies acquire the violin by grave robbing, a man by the name of Frederick Pope losses the love of his life due its charming music and deceptive ways, and it even ends up in communist China belonging to a music teacher. Again, essentially everywhere the violin goes, misfortune follows. There is something about its perfect sound.