Murder on Dante Street

Shortly after the end of World War II, a policeman arrives at house 26 on Dante Street in Ciboure and finds Madeleine Thibault, a famed actress, wounded with three gunshot wounds. He transports her to the hospital where she gradually regains consciousness. In the hospital, she begins telling the investigator her story, setting the frame for the events that followed.

In 1940, Madeleine, her manager Greene, and her son Charles flee Paris for the south of France, aiming for Ciboure where her former husband Philip lives. Along the way, they run out of gas, forcing Charles to go in search of fuel. He leaves and does not return, a disappearance that shadows the rest of the tale.

A few weeks after their departure, Charles is arrested by the rapidly advancing Germans. He is released three weeks later, branded a convinced fascist. This early setback plants suspicion around the family as the occupation tightens.

When Madeleine reaches Ciboure, the Germans are already present. She hides in her father Hyppolite's house with Jourdan, who had previously attacked a German officer and killed a young Frenchman who joined the fascists. A German raid searches the house; Jourdan is not found and Charles becomes a suspect.

Madeleine agrees to perform in a theater piece staged for the occupying forces. In the production, her heroine kills her former lover. During the performance, Madeleine shoots and kills the local Fuhrer who sits in the audience.

With the help of a costume designer at the theatre, Madeleine and Greene manage to escape into the streets after the performance. Greene is mortally wounded and, on his deathbed, tells Madeleine that Charles was among the three attackers. The revelation links Charles directly to the violence haunting them.

The costume designer's son initiates Madeleine into the Resistance Movement, giving her a new purpose beyond personal survival. She accepts and begins clandestine work against the occupiers. This marks a turning point in her struggle and loyalty.

As the war ends, Madeleine returns to Ciboure and learns that Philip, her erstwhile husband who had joined the Resistance, was hanged by the Germans. The news underscores the high cost paid by those who resisted. The town begins to reckon with the consequences of years of occupation.

Charles arrives in Ciboure with a group of friends and Madeleine recognizes a German officer who had searched for Jourdan. She accuses Charles of informing on his father, but Charles denies it and insists he had no part in his father’s arrest or execution. He refuses to go with her to the police, and the confrontation ends when one of his friends shoots Madeleine.

Charles and his friends are arrested, and the investigator who recorded Madeleine's testimony comes to their cell to release them, revealing that he had secretly worked with the Germans and continues to sympathize with them. The revelation casts doubt on justice and on the town’s memory of the war. The episode highlights the murky loyalties that persisted after the conflict.

Madeleine Thibault dies from the wounds she sustained in the confrontation. Her death closes a turbulent chapter shaped by war, resistance, and personal tragedy. The community mourns a figure who embodied the era’s turmoil.

Ten years pass before Charles returns to Ciboure. In a restaurant, he is recognized by the costume designer's son, who knows nothing of his past. The dresser's son notes that Madeleine's murderers have not yet been found, and their exchange ends with a comment about West Germany and France’s changed state, hinting at a memory that refuses to fade.