Jerome Martinaud (Michel Serrault) is a rich and powerful French lawyer who becomes the prime suspect in the rape and murder of two girls. Inspectors Antoine Gallien (Lino Ventura) and Marcel Belmont (Guy Marchand) bring Martinaud in for questioning, but the attorney insists he's innocent, and the evidence that would seem to incriminate him is not conclusive. As Gallien and Belmot continue to interrogate Martinaud, their frustration grows, and their approach increases in intensity.