The film tells the story of a struggling author who discovers a manuscript, the war memoir of a man who has recently died, and publishes it as his own work.

When he discovers a diary, written during the Algerian War, among the possessions of a recently deceased soldier, he publishes it as his own work to great acclaim.

At a book signing, Matthieu is blackmailed by a mysterious older man who knows and can prove he is a fraud while others, particularly Alice's family friend Stanislas, are doubting his talent.

Following the news of Stan's death, Alice and her parents decide to meet his family in London, and Matthieu leaves the manuscript with her to read.

Two years later, working cash-in-hand jobs around Paris, he sees Alice from afar in a bookshop, celebrating the supposedly posthumous publication of Matthieu's second novel, titled "Shams".