Poirot has his little grey cells, Morse has his classical education, Patrice Lanier just has the 'things themselves'. His thigh is in plaster, his mother-in-law is losing her memory, his wife is obsessed with that. His children text more than they speak, and even his dog isn't speaking to him. His assistant, ex-nun Pucelle, has gone undercover in the underbelly of Parisian drug culture. He needs to be in Avignon to support his wife, in Paris to support Pucelle, and in Pont-St-Esprit to pursue his own investigation. Returning to his office, Patrice must lock-down Paris: there are 250 terrorists in the city ready to blow it to kingdom come. How is Patrice going to find them in time? And where the hell is Pucelle?