Arriving by train at a small town in the provinces enigmatic loner Milan (Hallyday) goes in search of aspirin to ease a raging headache. Instead he encounters Manesquier (Rochefort) a retired teacher who is as verbose and convivial as Milan is taciturn and reserved. The older man offers his new acquaintance a room in his large decaying mansion and the two warily become friends. Each though has a secret. Milan plans to rob the local bank while Manesquier is about to undergo a triple heart bypass. As the pair approach their dates with destiny writer Claude Klotz has them admiring and even envying each other`s lifestyle. The OAP imagines himself a man of action while the hood dreams of a quiet life beside the fire. The subtle osmosis continues as Leconte having assigned both characters a distinctive musical and visual signature delicately elides them.