A man's body is found hanging from the top of a sailing ship mast during the Dunkirk carnival. Recently arrived from Paris, Captain Janie Roussel and lieutenant Éric Dampierre investigate.

During the carnival in Dunkirk, a body is found hanging from the rigging of an old sailboat, its hands attached behind its back. Janie Roussel, precinct captain, is called to the scene. So is Éric Dampierre, head of the criminal investigation unit from a nearby town. They will be sharing the investigation. The victim was an unscrupulous real estate agent. He was also member of a group involved in the festivities. Did his murder have something to do with the carnival? Or with his shady business dealings? That's the lead the police decide to follow, until another body turns up, this time on the beach-also hanging, also hands tied behind its back. Yet there appears to be no connection between the two victims.—Happy_Evil_Dude