This is the story of the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics, which was awarded for research that started in 1980 and involved electrons, coffee cups, donuts... and a hairy ball. Or how a small, curious experiment eventually led to a whole new field of research.

What makes life worth living? In a set of interconnected stories, several Paris residents see their lives turned upside down when death knocks at their door: a narcissistic Italian opera singer wakes up at the morgue only to realise her own passing came unnoticed; a British stuntman finds himself questioning his own profession when his son suffers an accident; an eccentric elderly Colombian woman makes a pact with death itself... While each character strives to reconnect with what matters most, the city of light, love and endless possibility shines brighter than ever.

In the 28th century, Valerian and Laureline are special operatives charged with keeping order throughout the human territories. On assignment from the Minister of Defense, the two undertake a mission to Alpha, an ever-expanding metropolis where species from across the universe have converged over centuries to share knowledge, intelligence, and cultures. At the center of Alpha is a mysterious dark force which threatens the peaceful existence of the City of a Thousand Planets, and Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe.

Tristan found a dead cat on the corner of his street, hit by a car and left there in the gutter to rot in the rain. The young man is shaken, and the image of the dead cat begins to haunt him.