Of all the pedigree cats the Birman is the most mysterious one. Mysteriously, it first appeared in 1926, at the first big cat show in Paris, after the First World War.  It was accompanied by a strange legend.

 Breeding Birmans presents difficulties because of its particular characteristics-four white gloves- it is a genuine genetic headache. (Even today the gloving gene is not fully understood.) To pierce the secrets of the sacred cat of Burma two experts have collaborated. Simone Poirier a breeder with thirty two years experience selecting and breeding Birmans and Gisele Barnay a specialised journalist, the interviewer. They discuss the Zoology of genetics and their dialogue is in effect a voyage of research into the sacred cat of Burma.