El guión de Jorge Semprún se basa en el libro homónimo de Artur London que narra en primera persona las purgas estalinistas de las que fueron víctimas los disidentes del Partido Comunista checoslovaco, entre ellos el propio London. Estas purgas tuvieron lugar en el famoso Proceso de Praga de 1952.
Set in 18th century France, a naive 17-year-old orphan named Benjamin is taken in by his wealthy aunt, the Countess de Valandry. There, he is seduced by a variety of women, including a few flirtatious maidservants and neighboring countesses who all want to be Benjamin's "first".
Lucky Jo and his three friends are little criminals, who try to live from small burglaries. But they never have luck - ever so often something inpredictable happens to Jo and gets one of them arrested. While Jo is in prison once again, they decide they'd better do without him in future. He decides to help them secretly...and unfortunately.
