Louis Riquier, a divorced father, barricades himself at home with his three kids at the end of a weekend visit, refusing to return them to their mother, who has been granted custody. The local police officer handling the incident, Ducroix, served under Riquier during the Algerian war and knows that the man is quick-tempered but that, with patience, he'll wind up surrendering. Ducroix also knows that Riquier is a mentally stable guy who has rebelled only because he feels he's the victim of injustice. So Ducroix spares no effort to keep the dialogue open, and yet the legal machinery grinds relentlessly forward...
