Böhm, a young marriage swindler, meets up with an old school friend who works as a writer. Lehmann writes sensational factual reports about spies and murderers. When Mr. Böhm learns that he can make money by claiming to be a murderer, he pretends to be a woman-killer. His old school friend Lehmann then takes him to his agent Mr. Marojan. While the "factual report" is in full swing, the police discover the truth, namely that Böhm is not a murderer at all. So as not to disappoint the magazines, Böhm, Lehmann and agent Marojan come up with a perfidious plan: Böhm is actually to murder women. A victim is soon found, but "woman killer" Böhm makes a fatal mistake...

It's carnival in Paris and lawyer Paul is with his wife Angèle from London to visit his journalist friend Georges and his wife Marguèrite. At the upcoming opera ball, the two women want to put their husbands to the test.

The devil plays the leading role, but rarely has the devil taken such a charming and seductive form as in Anouilh's. As a young girl named Biondetta - blond and innocent as an angel - Lucifer appears to the young Spanish nobleman Alvarez, who is an officer in the service of the King of Naples. In this guise, it is easy for the devil to make the young Spaniard fall in love with him. But Eros has a hard time when strict custom and morality suppress nature. In vain the devil tempts him with the pleasures of the world. Neither carnival, gambling, nor the most beautiful courtesan can yet soften the officer. Or can they?