Verjeat is an aging, been-around gumshoe, while Lefevre is his young, callow and cynical associate.

The officer has time to warn his colleagues that the killer is Portor, a well known thug whose brother is campaigning on behalf of law and order candidate Lardatte.

Chief inspector Verjeat believes the politician who hired the thugs is as guilty as the murderous goon.

When he embarrasses Lardatte while disarming a hostage (the dead volunteer's father), Verjeat is told he's being promoted and transferred within a week to a posting outside of Rouen.

He speeds up his hunt for the goon and, with Lefevre, he engineers a complicated scheme to buy more time before the transfer.