Commissaire Pel of the Police Judiciaire de la Republique de France hasn't been promoted which is disappointing; then he meets the new Chief and the implications suddenly look disastrous. However, an interfering boss is the least of Pel's worries. The supermarket at Talant has been broken into again; the night watchman attacked, his dog killed, and all that's missing are a couple of bags of groceries. Then someone leaves a letter bomb at the bank.
While Pel and his team close in on the baguette burglars, another bomb explodes in the Post Office claiming the lives of six innocent victims. With La Division Nationale Anti-Terroriste involved, the Chief being ever more obstructive and Inspector Nosjean missing, last seen in Paris, Pel is near the end of his tether. Then in a desperate attempt to stop the bombers, one of Pel's team is killed. In sadness and anger, Pel knows that he has to outwit the terrorists before any more lives are lost.
