This tragic drama is based on a modern novel by Andre Miquel which retells the classic 7th century Arab romance, "Layla and Majnun." In this story, two young people who are actually in love have been given their parents' permission to marry. Not long after he learns of the approval, Qays (Safy Boutella), the bridegroom, is so overcome with joy that he serenades Layla (Anca Nicola), his love, in public. The girl's father is so displeased by this unseemly display that he calls off the marriage. The boy's father vainly attempts to change the other father's obdurate stance, but eventually the girl's father marries her off to another. The boy, maddened by this course of events, takes refuge in the desert, where he becomes famous as "the madman" (majnun, in Arabic) who sings of love.