In a small town near Marseille, halfway between the city and the countryside, a social outcast who had been living on a neglected municipal lot is found dead. Initial findings point to murder. Claire Lepecq-Quémeneur, who works at the local SRPJ, is put in charge of the investigation. Her ex-husband, Alain Quémeneur, has custody of their 17-year-old son, Basile. As the investigation gets underway, Alain realizes that Basile knows more than he should about the death of the man, a certain Didier Novelli. Without telling Claire, Alain soon uncovers the truth: along with two of his friends, Basile is guilty of Novelli’s murder. Novelli, who lived near the spot where the three teenagers had gone to practice archery, was killed during an argument that broke out for unclear reasons. Determined to protect Basile despite the gravity of the situation, Alain decides to do everything in his power to prevent his ex-wife from discovering their son’s guilt. Engaged in active collusion with the parents of the other two teenagers, he finds himself caught in a spiral of lies and denial that will eventually undermine even his sanity. Meanwhile, Claire uncovers clues that seem to suggest her son and his two friends may not be entirely uninvolved in the circumstances surrounding Novelli’s death. Overcome by increasingly alarming suspicions, she stumbles toward a truth from which she may never recover.
