Françoise has gone into business seducing men whose wives want to divorce them, and who need incriminating evidence against them. In addition, she has a little blackmail operation going on on the side with politicians who can't afford a scandal. She got started on this business after she was raped, and hasn't looked back since. Now the police are on her trail, and she avails herself of the services of a couple who make a profession of hiding wanted criminals. At the hideout, she meets Simon, a second-generation mobster. As the police close in, Françoise and Simon go on the run together, pulling off occasional heists for operating money. Before long, they have also fallen in love.

In the south of France, the body of a 22-year-old American tourist, Candice Strasberg, is discovered in the middle of the scrubland. Two days of rain prior to the discovery of the body made it difficult to collect evidence at the scene, as the rain had washed away the footprints. Using the victim’s diary, the police are attempting to piece together her movements. The investigation is entrusted to Gaston Delarue, the public prosecutor of Tarascon; Gérard Souffries, the investigating judge; Commissioner Bonetti of the Marseille police; and Divisional Commissioner Bretonnet of the Paris police. Among the six suspects is Bernard Vauquier, the son of the President of the Senate. The investigation proves to be as complicated as it is sensitive. But who murdered or killed Candice Strasberg? Screenplay adapted from ‘La Pieuvre’, a novel by Paul Andreota, published in 1970.