A middle class leftist man of the Seventies decade, starting to show signs of aging and a loss of identity, runs away from his commitments.

Pierrot, mechanic in Paris, falls madly for a female chemist his senior—who at first refuses him, only accepting love after being diagnosed with a deadly illness.

Pierre Lentier murders an 8-year-old in horrendous circumstances. This 30-something solitary factory worker who lives on the edge of society is sentenced to death. A damning indictment of the death penalty and the manipulative behaviour of the media.