In 2013, Vanessa Springora recounts how she found herself under the influence of a famous writer. In 1986, she was 13; him, almost 50. The victim of a triple predation: sexual, literary, and psychic, there's more beyond her individual story. She questions the excesses of an era, and the complacency of an environment blinded by talent and celebrity.
Max, a ruthless fifty-year-old hitman, discovers he has a problem: he now faints at the drop of blood. With his future in the profession in jeopardy, he's going to have to retrain... But not so simple when his only professional skill is to kill people... They are helped by a couple of young neighbors, Karim and Stéphanie, who do not imagine for a moment who they are dealing with... Max becomes attached, in spite of himself, to the young couple, until his past catches up with him.
Maria is a cleaning lady, who is reserved, shy and clumsy. When she is assigned to the School of Fine Arts, she meets Hubert, the school's whimsical guardian. There she discovers a fascinating place where freedom, creativity and daring reign.