So begins The Confessions of Max Tivoli, a heartbreaking love story with a narrator like no other. At his birth, Max's father declares him a 'Nisse', a creature of Danish myth: for the baby boy has the external physical appearance of an old, dying creature. Yet, as Max ages, his body will grow younger Max's curse will prove also his blessing: in youth, he falls hopelessly for neighbourhood girl Alice. But with age he will grow into a stranger to her eyes, and so be granted another chance at love.