In the seacoast town of Boulogne, antique furniture saleswoman Hélène lives with her stepson, Bernard, who's back from military duty in Algiers. An old lover of Hélène's comes to visit, Alphonse, with his niece Françoise; he too is back from Algiers, where he ran a café. Bernard speaks of his fiancée, Muriel, whom Hélène has not met. The past is obscured by guilt, misperceptions, and missed possibilities. Appearances deceive, things change. As Hélène and Alphonse try to sort out a renewal, everyone seems off-kilter just enough to hint that all cannot end well.

The Way Out Electronics Company markets a new colour television set, complete with "fourth dimension", which transmits physical objects across the air and gives the viewer power over the action on the screen. The chief salesman of the company arranges a demonstration for a wealthy eccentric. As he flips the channels the unseen eye of the camera catches the beautiful women of Paris taking off their clothes.