Chabrol's crime thriller is set in a corrupt provincial town. Possessive wheelchair-bound widow Madame Cuno (Audran) and her bullied son, postman Louis (Belvaux), are in danger of losing their home to local land speculators who won't take Madame's refusal to sell for an answer. Thanks to Louis reading their mail, the Cunos find out some dirty secrets and people go missing and then turn up dead. This shifts the focus and brings in cynical detective Levardin (Poiret) to investigate. French with subtitles.