Paris 1895. Pierre Louÿs is a Parisian dandy and poet on the verge of fame. Pierre and his friend Henri de Régnier are both madly in love with Marie de Heredia (Noemie Merlant), the cheeky daughter of their mentor. Despite her feelings for Pierre, Marie eventually marries Henri who has a better situation. Badly hurt, Pierre leaves for Algeria where he meets Zohra, a bewitching local girl with whom he shares a tumultuous relationship and a passion for erotic photography.

One year later, Marie still has weak feelings for her husband and Pierre comes back to Paris with Zohra. As soon as Marie hears the news, she rushes to see Pierre and confesses that she kept herself for him. They quickly start an affair and a game of cat and mouse between many players begins, full of desire, jealousy and photography. They will build their future selves by transgressing the established codes, how far will they go?