一个盗窃集团改弦易辙，决定与时俱进，不再从事一般性偷盗活动，而是进军政治犯罪领域。理由很简单：政治犯罪的报酬更加丰厚。5个无可救药的骗子利用各种诡计和手段，骗取大量的钱财。他们作案的对象从流行歌手到革命将领，甚至连教皇也不放过。电影想象力丰富、笑料及各种作案手法都很精彩。但逻辑性不强、结构松散。

本片由五条经纬线编织一个接一个的神秘故事。两条经线指的是两位到医院检查胃病的的病人，病重的是喜欢男扮女装的郁卒警察，另一个则是到处捻花惹草，家财万贯的富商痞子。三条纬线指的是火车上一见钟情的少男少女，各自用谎言欺骗对方编织梦想；还有专门在墓园里等待机会，拐骗丧妻的有钱罹夫的黑纱寡妇；以及街头拾荒有着天籁之音的流浪汉，等着有朝一日可以成为巨星……

The film was shot in a single take, without any special effects or stuntmen, with the director driving the car.

The idea for this film came to Claude Lelouch after hiring a gyro stabilized camera mount for a film he was working on at the time.

While Claude Lelouch refuses to say who the driver was (although believed to be an F1 driver of the time) the car was his own Ferrari 275 GTB.

The film is nine minutes long because the film cartridge in the camera could only hold 10 minutes of film and it was taken in a single shot.

There was no confirmation of who was driving or what car he was driving. Sources variously claim the car to be either a Le Mans Matra 675, Ferrari 275 GTB, or, more recently an Alpine A110.

Lelouch was arrested shortly after the film was screened but was later released without charge.

The route taken in the film is 10.42 km long (6.48 mi). It takes the driver 7:57 to cover that distance, giving him an average speed of 78.64 km/h (48.86 mph).