Down-on-her-luck actress Nadine (Romy Schneider) contends with the obsessive affections of photographer Servais (Fabio Testi) and her off-kilter husband Jacques (Jacques Dutronc). To win her heart, Servais secretly takes a loan from a shady source to finance a production of Shakespeare's Richard III with Nadine in a starring role opposite a demented leading man (Klaus Kinski).