Onoff is a famed author who hasn't published anything in years and has become a recluse. One rainy night, he is picked up by the police, who find him running across the French countryside in the rain, breathless, without any identification and apparently suffering from short-term memory loss. A murder has been committed in the nearby woods, and suspecting Onoff's involvement, the authorities detained him to await the arrival of the Inspector, who's ironically a fan of Onoff's work.