The bloated corpse of a young student discovered behind a locked door, a drowned nun's body in the weir, a provocative fourteen-year-old shouting rape and knifer doing his worst in a nightclub: it's all part of the daily routine for Commissaire Pel and his team as they work their way into the silly season of joy and goodwill to all men - everyone, that is, except policemen.
For the first time in what seems like years, however, Pel and his team are looking forward to being off duty for the festivities and at last they close the cases - although the nun had them baffled for a while - and raise their glasses, congratulating themselves on the successful outcomes. Then the news breaks of a planned armed robbery and suddenly Christmas is cancelled again. After scrupulous preparation the police go into action, hoping arrests will be made without a single shot being fired. But the operation turns into a tragedy and accusations of mismanagement are made by Pel's superiors as well as by the press. The Chief holds Pel responsible and when Paris gets involved in the investigation Pel suspects there's worse to come.
Infiltrating the gutter groups by means of an undercover agent, it soon becomes clear that they are not hunting a simple street pusher who's using his addict clients to satisfy an appetite for crime. The target is known by several names but the police have no idea what he looks like as they begin tracking the man behind the evil organization in which local girls are the pawns in a horrific and deadly game.
A decomposing corpse in a locked room, a drowned nun and a knifer in a club are all part of the daily routine for Commissionaire Pel and his team. However, after an armed robbery turns into tragedy, Pel suspects there's worse to come.
