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Louis (Gerard Lanvin), an advertising executive in a Paris department store, is not the world's most ambitious man, but he has a good marriage and is content with his job -- until his world is turned upside-down by a new, manipulative, controlling manager (Michel Piccoli) who slowly starts to dominate his life. Once given privileged entry into the inner circle of the boss' confidantes, Louis does everything so as not to lose his advantaged position: he works overtime, he fawns, he fetches, his house is at the manager's disposal. His wife (Nathalie Baye), who sees right through the arrogant manager, is getting fed up with her husband's behavior but is not able to make him aware of the extent of his own personality changes. In a pique of anger, she leaves him -- and it looks as though Louis cannot "unlearn" his lesson, especially when the manager disappears as mysteriously as he came. Michel Piccoli won the "Best Actor" award at the 1982 Berlin Film Festival for his role in this film. The film itself also won the Louis Delluc award for the "Best French Film" of 1981.