A distressed young man murders the woman he loves in a cafe watched by a large crowd Fascinated by the crime she has witnessed Anne Desbaresdes returns several times to the scene forming a relationship with a man who also saw the murder & drinking through the afternoon with him as he patiently answers her eager questions Slowly they find themselves being taken over by forces which threaten their own stability Moderato Cantabile is a carefully woven tapestry of emotion in which the characters' inner lives are reflected by the story's spaces & landscapes