Adapted from Hugo's eponym novel, the story concerns a Guernseyman named Gilliatt, a social outcast who falls in love with Deruchette, the niece of a local shipowner, Mess Lethierry. When Lethierry's ship is wrecked on the Roches Douvres, a perilous reef, Deruchette promises to marry whomever can salvage the ship's steam engine. Gilliatt eagerly volunteers, and the story follows both his physical trials and tribulations.

The musical piece “Stripsody” for solo voice was created in a collaboration between mezzo-soprano Cathy Berberian and comic book author and illustrator Roberto Zamarin. The score unites onomatopoetic elements, cartoon language and action sequences. Berberian’s magnificent voice takes up the dynamics of the images, swinging on a liana: past the “achoo” to the “boinnnggg”.