In the near future, leftist writer Paula goes from Paris to the French town of Atlantic-Cité when she learns of the death of a former colleague and lover, Richard P. Is she there to investigate? On the surface, faces are beautiful, colors bright, clothes trendy. Beneath, little is clear: some talk to Paula as if shes Alice in Wonderland, corpses pile up, and ideological struggles insert themselves. A murder victims nephew and a political partys hired hands hover around Paula. Is obscuring things her goal or is it life thats obscure?