During World War II, Helmut Dantine specialized in playing villainous Nazis in Hollywood melodramas. He offers a compelling performance in a variation of these earlier roles in this suspense filled and politically loaded tale of intrigue. The story opens in German-occupied Athens during the darkest hours of the war. Civilians are not allowed on the streets after dark.

Françoise is determined to help her friend Lucie discover sexual fulfillment, whom she considers to be stuck in a marital rut with Henri, her failing husband. So she introduces her to a friend, Pierre, who soon becomes her lover. Pierre even proposes to Lucie to go with him to Nice, where he says he has a villa.