Ric Hochet, the famous Parisian newshound, is not himself. He's wearing a mysterious bandage, he isn't driving his usual car, and a strange smell is emanating from his apartment... When he's invited to his old friend Police Commissioner Bourdon's wedding in the South of France, his infallible memory starts failing and his legendary luck begins to desert him. Then an attempt is made on Bourdon's life. What's eating Ric and why would anyone want to murder Bourdon? Clearly, things are not all what they seem—least of all Ric himself.

As ever, Rick is in a pickle. Instead of getting his hands on some new information, he bumps into his old foe Nyctalope – literally. And, of course, he's alone and unarmed. Unimpressed, his boss sends him out to investigate a mysterious murder in Paris's Luxembourg Gardens – which turns out to be a series of mysterious murders. The trail leads to a left-wing magazine called "Mad" – whose reporters are mad enough to target Rick himself. Meanwhile, there's Nyctalope to deal with (again)... Is the nearest Rick will get to a front-page story seeing his own picture splashed across it?

Intrepid Parisian reporter Ric Hochet finds himself on home turf when a sudden increase in crime in the capital is linked with a surprise publishing phenomenon: a "how-to" guide to murder... An editorial miscalculation, or malicious hoax? Ric and Nadine's investigation takes them to a small town in Belgium where they discover that the Marabout publishing company is not exactly the big, happy family its founder and manager Gerard André believes it to be. But who is really behind the mysterious guide? And are they guilty of murder?