Antonio Stradivari, the greatest of the Cremona violin makers, falls in love again at fifty-five with an attractive widow. In his infatuation he creates a violin with a unique tone that gives expression to his new love, and names the instrument "Antonietta" in her honor. The violin is owned successively by virtuosi who play it for three composers, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Hector Berlioz, and Igor Stravinsky, inspiring them to write some of their finest music.

The violin also produces an erotic effect on those hearing it. It had helped Stradivari win the love of the widow Antonia Zambelli, and those who subsequently played it and their audiences as well find themselves responding to its tone by indulging in amorous longings. Even Spenser Ham, a businessman and the most recent owner of Antonietta, and his business associates are not immune to the spell of the violin. For a brief...