Isabelle Mergault

Santa doesn't want to retire, but rules are rules and he must train someone to replace him. The lucky winner, to be chosen from among millions of children, must be named Nicholas, be an orphan and have a pure heart. On the other side of the planet, there is a little boy who is a perfect match, but his lack of self-confidence and fear of heights make him a poor contestant. Will Santa agree to step down, and help his apprentice take his place?

Jules, a young Parisian postman, secretly records a concert performance given by the opera singer Cynthia Hawkins, whom he idolises. The following day, Jules runs into a woman who is being pursued by armed thugs. Before she is killed, the woman slips an audio cassette into his mail bag...

Marie is nineteen and bored in her little suburban life with no future. In a café, she meets the charismatic and beautiful Gerard. Blinded by adoration, Mary decides to leave her parents and her clerk job to live with the man she considers as the love of her life. But Gerard is a pimp, who soon forces her into prostitution. From within homes to out on the streets, the young woman gradually discovers a world of decay and violence.

Martin Terrier wants to quit his job as a hired hitman, but his organized crime employers are unwilling to see him turned out to pasture, Terrier knows too much, and he is still useful to the organization. He escapes to the countryside where he meets Claire, and the two soon fall in love. Back in Paris to confront his employers, Terrier learns that they've stolen all his money from the bank. They give him an ultimatum—do one last job for them and he gets his money and his freedom...

A woman from Paris, Bernadette, comes to the United States after being promised a job. When she arrives, however, she learns that she is a victim to a hoax. Unable to return to France, Bernadette looks for work while staying with her close friend Shirley, an actress looking for her big break. Their friendship is challenged when Bernadette finds herself falling in love with Shirley's boyfriend.

Loïc Le Tallec never really took care of his son. When the latter disappears in a road accident, Loïc is devastated. He has only one idea in mind: to find the one who lives now with the heart of his son. He falls on Hugo, a young man that this brand new heart makes totally unreasonable and uncontrollable. Their meeting promises to be explosive.

Anne-Marie lives an easy life with Gilbert, a rich plastic surgeon: a beautiful house, a doggy, a cleaning lady, expensive furniture, the lot. Not so easy in fact when she thinks twice. She does not get on with her husband any longer. She gets on his nerves and he does not attract her any longer. She feels good only when she jogs on the beach and ... when she is the arms of her lover, Leo. One day, Gilbert gets killed in a car accident. Good news, since she will be able to live with Leo. The trouble is her well-meaning family settle at her villa with a view to supporting the "poor widow" morally. Anne-Marie just cannot admit she is not distressed at all, especially to her son Christophe. She is now even more of a prisoner than when Gilbert was alive...

After getting screwed over by life (again), two losers decide that enough is enough. Using stolen ski masks and stolen toy guns, they take hostages in their local bank, holding them for ransom. Things go well until the hostages learn what's going on, and demand a piece of the action for themselves.