Henri Verneuil was born Achod Malakian of Armenian parentage on October 15, 1920, in Rodosto, Turkey, and his family fled to France and settled in Marseilles when he was a young child. He later recounted his childhood experience in the novel Mayrig, which he dedicated to his mother and made into this 1991 film with the same name.

Months after a tragic accident, Sarah, a young pregnant woman, must spend Christmas Eve alone in her house before giving birth the next day. But in the middle of the night, a creepy visitor knocks at her door willing to do anything to get what they want, setting off a night of pure terror.