For Manuel, revenge is a dish best served hot. Blinded by rage after the accidental murder of his wife during a hold-up, he has only one thing on his mind: to find the gangster and make him pay. But all his resolve is shattered when he meets the alleged murderer's lover.

A young provincial has come to Paris to study Chinese. From a modest background, he has to do odd jobs to survive, finding accommodation as best he can in a furnished room where he is hardly free. Not being wealthy, he has solved his travel problems by getting a tandem, which, in the streets of Paris, is rather rare. Eccentric, unpredictable but tender, Georges, known as "Guidon Futé", falls in love with one of his classmates from Langues Orientales.