Four murders in forty-eight hours happen in Nice. The murderer calls himself "The Exterminator" and the police are unable to catch him. Tom Lepski is an insurance detective and he get involved in the investigation when Liza Mendoza, a famous violinist and a friend, is killed just a few minutes before Tom visit her. After another rich woman killing, Tom finds out that all the victims were members of the exclusive Fifty Club. All of them but Lisa.

The inhabitants of Praxos, a mountain village in an occupied country, organize their own resistance to the oppressor. Faced with reprisals, they decide that every hour a man will cross the bridge that is the population's only supply route. The action, which results in the death of all those taking part, continues until dawn on the third day.