A couple of hit men set out to kill an old friend.

François Toledo, married businessman and father, falls head-over-heels in love with Janine, a work colleague. However, he is soon found out: after three dates, he strangles some prostitutes, when, the victim of blackmail, he becomes dishonored. He is taken to court, and sentenced to be killed by a guillotine.

After an adventurous life, Patrick has settled in the Camargue and bought a manade where he raises bulls, while the "riziers" gradually invade and transform the land. On the very day the bulls are being branded, Patrick sees Robert, a long-lost comrade just out of prison. He takes him in and asks for nothing, despite the general hostility. In fact, Robert begins by poaching young Paco, son of the gardian-chef, by offering to rob a bank; then he covets his friend's almost-fiancée, Zeffa; finally, he organizes a devastating expedition against the rice farmers, in short, he behaves like a real "dog in a poke", sowing discord and brawl everywhere.