A teenager discovers the first stirrings of love. Her daily life unfolds in a stairwell. It is there that she leaves her boyfriend before going home; it is also there that she meets her girlfriend. It is there that the powerful emotions of her young life play out.

As usual, Slim goes to the Point Ephémère bar in Paris to have a last drink. As is often the case, he finds Lily there, an eccentric and intriguing character, then Seiko, whom he knew as a child soldier, once in Sierra Leone. While he listens to Lily tell him a few stories, Slim watches the Seiko ride, tracked and soon arrested by two plainclothes police officers.