Denis, a poor student in philosophy, works as a night porter in the Paris market of Les Halles in order to pay for his studies. Constantly weary, he falls asleep and dreams of a beautiful girl in white, Irène, with whom he falls in love.
Gilbert Quercy, 18, tried to commit suicide after a heartache. At the hospital, three women try to cheer him up : the three former wives of his father, an archaeologist and an egyptologist, whom Gilbert called his "mothers". These women show a lot of willingness, but soon will become intrusive.
A young journalist who has gone reporting with the papers of a friend gets caught up in an arms smuggling operation. It is in this context that he meets Draguicha, a Serbian student who, misled by a group of greedy financiers, is planning a terrorist attack on the Orient Express...
