Jérôme Wargnier

Oscar, Simon, and Aïssa, three childhood friends, go to Paris to celebrate some good news. But on the night bus taking them home—the N121—an exchange between passengers spirals out of control, and the situation quickly goes off the rails.

In 1919, in a small town under the crushing heat of summer, a war hero is held prisoner in an abandoned barracks. Outside, his mangy dog barks night and day. Not far off in the countryside, an extraordinarily intelligent young woman works the land, waiting and hoping. A judge whose principles have been sorely shaken by the war is coming to sort out this case of which it is better not to speak.

Alexandre Taillard de Vorms is a force to be reckoned with. With his silver mane and tanned, athletic body, he stalks the world stage as Minister of Foreign Affairs for France, waging his own war backed up by the holy trinity of diplomatic concepts: legitimacy, lucidity, and efficacy. Enter Arthur Vlaminck. Hired to write the minister's speeches, Arthur must contend with the sensibilities of his boss and the dirty dealings within the Quai d'Orsay, the ministry's home.