This is the story of four French friends: the Greek (an osteopath), Fifi (who lives with his mother), Fortuné (a West Indian) and Freddy (a gambler). They meet up regularly at a Parisian bookmakers’, their favourite haunt. Tired of frittering away the little spare cash they have, they agree to give up gambling. But no sooner have they taken this pledge than Fate intervenes, in the guise of the turf king, Monsieur Paul. The latter persuades the four friends to buy a champion racehorse, not knowing that it is in fact an old nag…

After studying in Paris, the young doctor François moves to Beauval, where single-family houses are lined up monotonously. He quickly becomes the focus of a group of young people, led by the charismatic Cédric and Matthieu, his assistant. The gang tries to escape their boredom with dangerous games at the edge of the forest. But things become bitterly serious when the body of a twelve-year-old girl is found and François is suspected.