Michel Marini reads a an awful lot of novels, even while walking through the crowded Paris of the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. If people tell him not do so so since it’s dangerous, he ignores them. It will take a special meeting with a special person to make him change his mind.
And special people he’ll meet a lot. Pierre, going to Algeria as a french soldier and planning to write a philosophical book there. His sister Cécile writing her litterature thesis. Igor, Leonid and a couple of other refugees of soviet countries who now meet in a club where they play chess all day. A french secret service spy, regular visitor of the club. A misterious man, also coming regularly to the club but always ignored, insulted or even thrown out.
And Michel will change his habits. He’ll start to play chess instead of table-top football, he’ll start to run regularly in the jardin du Luxembourg. And he’ll start to regret his old carefree life. Only reading he will not chease.