Mathieu is a mild-mannered man engaged to a woman whose father is involved in running a house of prostitution. When the father dies, Mathieu inherits the bordello and is unprepared for his new position. He overcomes his shyness and becomes a sexual dynamo when his workers feed him some powerful amphetamines.

Annie, a 16 years old girl, loves Frédéric who is away doing his national service. During her holidays in the country, she meets Alexandre. He's older, owns a car and she experiences the "first time" with him. Back during a leave, Frédéric finds his sweetheart in the arms of this clumsy oaf and eventually hits it off with him.

People in Paris struggle with loneliness and urban isolation. In the center is Raphaële, a successful architect navigating her fragile relationship with her lover Vincent, a journalist grappling with alcoholism.

Thérèse is living in a provincial town, unhappily married to Bernard, a dull, pompous man whose only interest is preserving his family name and property. They live in an isolated country mansion surrounded by servants. Early in her marriage her only comforts are her fondness for Bernard's pine-tree forest, which was her primary reason for marrying him, and her love for her sister-in-law and Bernard's half-sister, Anne. The movie recounts in flashback the circumstances that led to her being charged with poisoning her husband.