Daniel is a former police officer turned debt collector. Now in his late fifties, he goes about his "dirty job" without emotion or sympathy. One winter's day, he stops at a roadside parking lot and is approached by Laura, an 18-year-old young woman who asks him to drive her home. He accepts, and on the way, she offers him "her services" in exchange for money. Daniel is furious, and throws her out of his car. But his feelings of remorse and the violence of his reaction lead him to turn around and retrace his steps, only to discover that Laura has disappeared...

二十出头的维克多在市政厅工作，他和女朋友夏洛特住在一起，两人将要迎来他们的第一个孩子。附近的核电站突发事故，维克多和他高中时期的朋友们本该撤离，却被强制关在一间农舍里。由于降雨的威胁，他们一直密切关注着放射性云层。接下来的二十四小时变得非常关键。

本杰明想成为一位伟大的医生，对此他深信不疑。但在父亲所在的医院部门的第一次实习，却事事不如意。实践比理论要难得多。责任过重，他的父亲常常缺席，和他一起实习的阿卜杜勒，是位比他经验丰富的外国医生。本杰明将突如其来地直面自己的局限，自己、病人、病人家属、医生及医护人员的恐惧。他的医生生涯的真正启蒙开始了。

单身母亲雷切尔抛弃掉襁褓中的孩子后，她与男人们展开一段段风流逸事，只身前往法国南部蒙彼利埃，与一个年轻的女贼陷入了一段奇异的恋爱关系。与此同时，拼死而无法怀上孩子的女警克莱尔渐渐地沉溺于找寻雷切尔之中。
导演雅克·迈尤特的这部叙述精巧的心理惊悚片聚焦在一个单身母亲雷切尔身上，她似乎异乎寻常地缺乏母性本能。导演给这个扣人心弦的故事带出一种紧张、悬疑的气氛，一种节制的同情怜悯之心。