Philippe Marannes

The antiques shop Gerard owns should help him to get rid of his financial problems. He dreams of writing the most important Dutch novel ever. Unfortunately he spends money like water. As a result he is constantly broke. His sister Ingrid is married to Pierre. She wants a child but he refuses. While Gerard is willing to consider leading a normal life, a wish mainly expressed by his parents, Ingrid's marriage falls apart.

Florence is found dead and mutilated. When Nathalie hears about this in the bar where she plays piano she becomes interested. She tries to get in touch with the people who knew Florence closely. Eventually she gets them to talk about Florence's destructiveness. About her deviant pleasure in hurting and injuring herself.