In southern France, in a quiet little town, the mayor, who also owns a castle with some cattle, is in the wine cellar with some other people: the pharmacist, the veterinary, and some of his employees. As they are drinking wine, they hear a terrible noise and the heat's getting higher and higher. They don't realize what's happening: when they come out of the cellar, they realize that everything has burned, and all the buildings are destroyed...

Henri Rainier has everything a man could want. A glamorous wife, two beautiful daughters and a well-paid job with a large bank. Then, one day, his entire world collapses. In the wake of a high-profile financial scandal, he is summoned into his director's office and accused of negligence. Rainier has no choice but to resign, but he soon realises that he has been made a scapegoat. He begins his own investigation in an attempt to clear his name and discover who is responsible for the enormous hole in the bank's finances. It soon becomes apparent that he is up against a very powerful and dangerous opponent.

In Renaissance France, a young doctor falls madly in love with Marie-Blanche, who is afflicted by the venereal disease syphilis. Because of this disease, for which no vaccine has yet been found, the young doctor cannot caress and love the girl without being threatened with certain death.