A child is kidnaped and murdered on the French Riviera, and the police pursue two men fleeing the scene of the crime. A policeman is killed by the two during the pursuit, but when the police move in on a lighthouse where the suspects are hiding, three men dressed alike emerge, each claiming to be innocent and accusing the other two of the crime. The police break down all three alibis, and investigations of their pasts prove all three to be unsavory characters. Johnny, an American, is an aspiring artist who had almost contributed his girl friend to a fraternity house orgy back home. François is a gigolo who is cruel to the women who keep him. Jean-Philippe is a real estate agent not above offering his young sister as bait for business. Brought to trial, all three are acquitted, but they are killed by an angry crowd of demonstrators who set fire to the prison van transporting the defendants. It is never learned which of the three was the innocent man.