In 1946, a man named Drioli, whom has become quite poor after the war, finds himself in Paris at an art gallery for a friend whom went missing long ago. He learns that his friend has become quite famous and it is revealed that Drioli has a tattoo made by his friend, many people want to buy the tattoo that will cause him an unfortunate end.
It is foreshadowed that Drioli's friend Soutine is famous at the start when Drioli sees his art in a shop window. "My little friend, with a picture in the finest shop is Paris!"(line 13)
The climax of the story would be when Drioli makes the decision to go with the man in the canary gloves. After this point the story makes a dark turn and you soon find out that everything the man said was likely a lie.
This story ends in a cliffhanger that makes you wonder what happened to Drioli and where he is now.