Charles Dé, the founder's 50-year-old grandson, speaks eccentrically to a reporter, acknowledging his grandfather as a craftsman and his son as a businessman, but evasive about himself. He abandons his family and moves in with a young couple he meets by chance, cooking, reading, drinking, and talking philosophy with them. Charles falls for the young couple. The rest of the family employs a private detective to discover him, setting in motion a business takeover that threatens his Bohemian bliss.