Edouard, Eloi and Alexandre are graduate students and aspiring writers at the Sorbonne. The three meet fellow writer Andre in their class, and soon fall under his carefree spell. Each is awkward enough to be completely mesmerized by confident, effortlessly privileged, domineering Andre. Then one day, Andre vanishes. Paris` literary scene is relentlessly skewered throughout the film as the transitional period between late adolescence and adulthood is explored. The character of Andre ? in his cruelty, brutal honesty and manipulations ? is a catalyst for the other three men`s growth. As director Emmanuel Bourdieu says, “In the beginning, we wanted him to be a tyrant who dominates a small sect of worshippers. But we quickly realized that he needed to have a message and that the audience should almost be able to agree with that message.”