Guy Grand— billionaire by birth, entrepreneur by avocation, and thoroughly unpredictable— is a grand guy. He "keeps his hand in"— buying into and revolutionizing industries ranging from championship boxing to African safaris. Is he a crackpot, an eccentric, or perhaps a visionary with a goal of social redemption?

Grand's tour de force, the cruise ship Magic Christian, sets sail on Easter Sunday, fully renovated into the most luxurious vessel ever to sail the seas. On board to regale the 400 carefully selected passengers: the Juilliard String Quartet...a gorilla...gypsies...a gigantic bearded woman. Grand' s escapades are designed to prove his theory that everyone has their price— it just depends on the amount one is prepared to pay them.