Married with two young children, Jean Girod, a "writer", partly escapes that family life when he secretly witnesses a young woman commit suicide. In that new other life, he rents a room through his abstract artist friend Tian, there where he takes refuge. Through delusion or psychopathy, Jean begins to pedal the notion that he killed the woman, taunting the police through open anonymous letters to the media stating that he knows who killed her. He seemingly is either trying to push the theory as far as he can without getting caught, or truly does want to be caught as the killer despite not having done it. In an encounter with Tian's friend Florinda, with who there is a seeming mutual attraction, Jean may divulge his true intent and from what mental illness he suffers.