Molinat is assigned to the case of a man found with a bullet in his ear on the shore of a little Atlantic-coast resort he knows well. Indeed, he used to live there before his wife disappeared at sea, never to be seen again. As the ocean rejects a new corpse every day, the mystery thickens and the list of potential suspects lengthens. This slows Molinat's progress as much as the cumbersome Leroyer, sent in to spy on him and hopefully impede his progress. The tension mounts and the ring involving the three young ladies in the grey mansion, the village idiot, and the real-estate agent spins out of control.