AllMovie

A suicidal police detective travels from La Havre to Deauville at the behest of a mysterious femme fatale in the suspenseful sophomore feature from actress-turned-director Sophie Marceau. For Lt. Jacques Renard (Christopher Lambert), every night is a struggle. Rendered sleepless following the untimely death of his beloved wife, Lt. Renard finds his curiosity taking over after he is approached by an enigmatic beauty (Marceau) and implored to visit room 401 of the extravagant Hotel Riviera. Upon arriving at the hotel Lt. Renard discovers that Antoine Berangere (Robert Hossein), who has been the director of the establishment at the Riviera for nearly four decades, vanished forty-eight hours ago under suspicious circumstances. In his father's absence, Antoine's thirty-nine year old son Camille (Nicolas Briancon) has assumed control of the hotel. While Camille insists that the Hotel Riviera has no room 401, the suspicious actions of Antoine's wheelchair-bound second wife (Marie-Christine Barrault) leads Lt. Renard to suspect that foul play is afoot. Shortly after Lt. Renard discovers that Camille's famous mother Victoria (again Marceau) died precisely thirty-six years ago, a mangled body presumed to be that of Antoine Berangere turns up in the city morgue. While his loyal partner Pierre (Simon Abkarian) is convinced that this is an open and shut case, Lt. Renard himself discovers a series of well-concealed clues that lead him to believe that something far more sinister is afoot.