Gilbert, assigned to incinerate old banknotes at the Bank of France, lives with his wife, Gisèle, and his young son, Thomas. A few years earlier, he had formed a rock band with Serge and Gisèle's brother, Marc. The latter, abusing his naivety, make him believe that he has been robbed of a briefcase containing a million dollars and that, because of his fault, Marc is in danger of dying. The objective is to force Gilbert to put his incinerator out of order to facilitate the bank robbery. Gilbert refuses at first, then gives in. But he discovers that he has been cheated. To get revenge, he tells the police the date and time of the robbery.

Gilbert, employé à l'incinération des billets usagés à la Banque de France, vit avec sa femme, Gisèle, et son jeune fils, Thomas. Un jour, il voit débarquer Serge, un ami d'enfance, soi-disant de retour d'un long séjour en Australie. Serge et Marc, le frère de Gisèle, vont profiter de la naïveté de Gilbert pour obtenir qu'il les aide à voler les billets destinés à la destruction...