Fred (Leotard) is a gambler and deep in debt. He owes crime boss Victor (Marquand) a lot of money and the time to pay has come. Gégé (Penot), his loyal friend, advises him to make money quickly, or face the consequences. But Fred, at this moment, has other ideas in his head. He is obsessed with his young ex, BB (Binoche). He is still madly in love with her, but she wants nothing more to do with him. She wants to be happy, far away from Fred, and his gambling. He wants to try again and promises to change, but she will not listen. Fred, without her, sees no reason to keep going. He decides to take a massive risk to refund his debts. He agrees to kill a man. Victor arranges the hit. Fred carries out his contract, but realizes it is a trap: somebody is there who wants to eliminate him. But Fred is prompter to draw his gun and kills the assasin. He knows now that his life will be very difficult. Impossible even with two gangs after him. Then he meets Colette (Girardot). She has had a difficult life and now dreams of peace. She takes care of a scared Fred and falls in love with him. However it may be too late. Fred knows he has to pay his debt and that the only way to do it is to carry the hit...