A courier is hired to take a boy to a strange building that mysteriously appeared in an empty alleyway, where he is greeted by a strange man.

Jani and her younger sister, Zosa, live at the Bézier Residence, a boarding house where young working girls can pay to live in rooms. Jani shows Zosa a newspaper advertisement for a job at the legendary Hotel Magnifique, which only stays in the same place for one day at a time and appears in their town rarely before vanishing again. According to rumors, the hotel is enchanted. It makes its guests feel the happiest they have ever been, but guests cannot remember their stay once they leave. It is also known as the only place where magic can be used freely and safely.

Crowds are gathering near the spot where the Hotel Magnifique has appeared. Some lucky people are offered coveted invitations to enter as guests by the maître d’hotel himself, Alastair, who looks like a young man. After all the invitations have been distributed, Jani asks where the interviews are being held. A young doorman advises her to go home and forget about the hotel.