Police inspector Jean Lavardin is tasked with solving a series of grisly murders. In "Chicken with vinegar" and Inspector Lavardin, he travels to a small coastal town to investigate the puzzling death of a wealthy writer murdered on a beach.

"The dark shadows of New York come to life in this rarely-seen, moody, jazz-soaked noir classic. A film by the great Jean-Pierre Melville, who cast himself as a journalist on an ethically fraught mission to track down a missing French diplomat. He enlists the help of an alcoholic photographer who has the street smarts to track down the diplomat's mistresses." --

"The lives of Mika and her husband, celebrated pianist Andre Polonski, are interrupted by the unexpected arrival of Jeanne, a young woman who has learned that she might have been switched at birth with Polonski's son in the hospital. Also a pianist, Jeanne speculates that she may be Andre's daughter. Her suspicions further aroused by Mika's behavior, Jeanne begins the dangerous task of unraveling a dark web of family secrets and lies." --