The novel takes place between Berry and Bourbonnais and it tells the story of the life of the "bagpipes", at the end of the 18th century. The novel is divided into thirty-two evenings, where the narrator Étienne Depardieu, recounts his life with his cousin Brulette, and their friend Joseph living in Berry. Joseph will meet masters of the bagpipes of Bourbonnais who will transmit to him the knowledge of "music".