Madeleine barthelemey is pregnant with twins. On the advice of her doctor, she decides to undertake their education in utero. Nine months later, celine is born - a daughter whose cleverness and erudition vanish the momen...Madeleine barthelemey is pregnant with twins. On the advice of her doctor, she decides to undertake their education in utero. Nine months later, celine is born - a daughter whose cleverness and erudition vanish the moment she enters the world. Witnessing the fate of his once-brilliant and now dull-witted sister, the urbane, well-educated, but also conniving louis rejects birth altogether and embarks on a campaign of prenatal rebellion.