A struggling writer finds a shortcut to fame, but a blackmailer threatens to ruin his perfect life.

Mr. Beranger works at Paradesign, a furniture department store where the employees live day and night in the decorations. Himself lives in a show cottage in pasteboard and excels in the promotion of his dachshund footrest. His life seems settled well, until the day when he is promoted to the mysterious thirteenth floor of the store.

Recently the victim of a car accident, Paul, a teacher, is no longer the same man. He no longer shows any interest in his environment and, even more worryingly, he seems to have become impervious to all feelings, all emotions. His wife, Marianne, and his mistress, Luisa, are of little more interest to him than his students, which is to say very little. Desperate, Luisa meets Marianne to try to understand.