Prof. Henri Laborit uses the stories of the lives of three people to discuss behaviorist theories of survival, combat, rewards and punishment, and anxiety. René is a technical manager at a textile factory and must face the anxiety caused by corporate downsizing. Janine is a self-educated actress/stylist who learns that the wife of her lover is dying and must decide to let them reunite. Jean is a controversial career-climbing writer/politician at a crossroads in life.
Victor Valance, an absent father and gambler, works with shady casino operations abroad. When he returns to Paris in need of money, he plans to take advantage that Pauline, his eldest daughter now fully responsible for the whole family, has begun to work for the Ministry of Finance. Pauline thwarts his new projects but when she realizes gangsters are looking for Victor she will put her life at risk to help him and save their family.
Bickering couple Monique and Antoine are interrupted by bisexual burglar Bob while fighting in a bar. With husband and wife in need of cash, Bob teaches them the most efficient house burglary methods. Monique is attracted to the charismatic thief, but Bob is more interested in Antoine, who eventually succumbs to his attentions. As the trio continues living together, Monique grows unhappy about being ignored by both men.
A man is haunted after waking up from his sleep, during which he was pronounced dead by his doctor.
A French diplomat is surveilled by a secret service to find a weakness for political control, his private life becoming 'File No. 51'.
A porcelain table service and a painting from the 19th century pass from hand to hand and deteriorate over time, sealing the fate of different characters who cross paths in Paris.
An ad executive impersonates an archeology professor to avoid a situation with an obsessed former lover. She enlists the help of a hapless archeologist who is at the airport to pick the real archeology professor. What follows is a series of conflicting and comical situations involving the "switcheroo."
Russian spy boss in Geneva spends a night interrogating two spies to see who is a traitor.
A story about a father who kidnaps his daughter and which the director describes as a love story that ended badly.
