The crimes and tragedies that tear apart one family seem overblown in the telling, yet this psychological drama about the miseries of one French policeman is compelling throughout. Jean (Pierre Arditi) is a cop and also a failed novelist who was abandoned by his father, brother, and sister after his mother died. The trio move to Paris where they set up an art scam that nets them considerable cash -- something Jean begins to figure out when he joins them for a family reunion. Little by little, he learns that his father is an expert forger, his stepmother's art gallery seems to be involved in the scam, his brother is a derelict and into drugs, his stepmother is a hooker in addition to all of this, and his sister runs an exercise gym for keeping prostitutes in shape. Things get worse -- just when everything seems bad enough, the stepmother is murdered and it is up to Jean to find the killer.

Jean Cottard est policier d'abord, romancier ensuite. Policier à Lyon, où il a vécu toute son enfance, pensionnaire. A la mort de sa mère, alors qu'il avait 15 ans, son père, sa soeur Hélène et son jeune frère Benoît partent à Paris. Lui reste seul à Lyon. Les rares moments de loisirs que lui laisse son métier sont consacrés à l'écriture. Son éditeur l'appelant à Paris, il profite de son séjour dans la capitale pour rendre visite à la famille, dont il est coupé depuis dix-huit ans. Et là, tout bascule, une seule chose le maintient encore en vie : sa moto. Son père se suicide. Peu après, sa belle-mère est assassinée. A partir de là, Jean Cottard reconstitue, lentement, les pièces d'un puzzle tragique d'où émerge pour lui une vision nouvelle de tous ceux qui forment sa famille.