Claude Chabrol's exploration of the suffering bourgeoisie centers on Julie (Romy Scheider), the rich and very bored wife of Louis (Rod Steiger). The two are in St. Tropez, watching their marriage melt even as the sun warms the sand on the beach. When a man named Jeff comes on the scene and sparks fly between him and Julie, they plot Louis's death. But they soon discover that crime, however passionate, never pays.