Marseille and Cassis in summer. Fires devastate the hills near the calanques. They are known to be criminal, linked to the underworld and real estate speculation. Paula Baretto, elegant but weary, watches the land inherited from her father burn. Her past ties her to Kababjian, a wealthy Armenian-born lawyer suspected of being behind it all. Her brother is also connected to him through the mob. Vergès, a disillusioned Parisian journalist, comes to investigate with the help of a local reporter, while an ambitious police commissioner launches an operation to clean up the city.