Socially awkward and perpetually ill at ease, Manfred Baumann spends his evenings quietly drinking and surreptitiously observing Adèle Bedeau, the sullen but alluring waitress at a drab bistro in the unremarkable small French town of Saint-Louis. One day she vanishes into thin air. Georges Gorski, a detective haunted by his failure to solve one of his first murder cases, is called in to investigate the girl's disappearance. He sets his sights on Manfred-- and the murderous secrets of Manfred's past begin to catch up with him.