During the Second World War, Yvon joins the Gestapo to save his Jewish girlfriend, Stella, from deportation. When France is liberated, he has to answer for his past. Hunted, he decides to escape to Spain, but Stella refuses to go with him.
Since his wife died, Inspector Louis Baroni (Philippe Noiret) has become a virtual recluse, preferring the solitude of his quiet house to the company of others. His period of mournful contemplation is broken when he is called out to look into the suspicious death of Madame Morlaix who, according to her husband Edouard (Michel Serrault), fell from an upstairs window. Curious to find out more, Baroni begins his inquiry.
