Marlon Brando stars as a ruthless kidnapper who, along with his two partners, abducts a young girl in Paris and takes her to a remote Normandy beach house owned by a drug-addicted air stewardess. The gang lie low while they await the delivery of the ransom money, but it is a long time coming and as the time wears on the group gradually begins to fall apart at the seams. Due to its shocking and unusual ending, the film's original exhibitors refused people admittance to the cinema during its final scenes.