Stolen Kisses

Antoine is discharged from the army as unfit, showing his preference for novels and his longing for Christine. He has written many letters to her while in service, but Christine never replies. This unreciprocated connection sets the tone for his postmilitary life.

Christine is away skiing when Antoine comes to her house, where her parents entertain him and try to help. They learn he needs a job, and they secure him a position as a night clerk at the Hotel Alsina. This marks the start of his new life in Paris and sets up his first reencounter with Christine.

Christine visits him at the Hotel Alsina, and after a long separation they seem to hit it off again. Antoine spends much of his time reading behind the desk, immersed in his own world. The hotel becomes the backdrop for their fragile reconnection.

One morning a man with a private detective brings Antoine to a room where a woman has checked in. The woman is the man's wife and is with another man, triggering a furious outburst and the destruction of the room. Antoine is blamed for the commotion and loses his job.

Despite the setback, the detective befriends Antoine and hires him at his agency. He begins to learn the tricks of the trade under his mentor. This marks his transition from a hotel clerk to a private investigator.

While following someone, Antoine runs into Colette, who is now married to Albert Tazzi and has a child. The unexpected meeting rekindles a complicated sense of romance for Antoine. He remains torn between his past feelings and his current assignments.

The demands of constant shadowing make it hard for Antoine to focus on Christine. The relationship begins to drift as work takes precedence over romance. Christine becomes increasingly distant.

Georges Tabard visits the agency to find out why no one seems to like him. Posing as a stock boy to solve the mystery, Antoine analyzes the situation at Georges's shoe store. He then falls for Georges's wife, Fabienne, who seduces him.

Feeling the turmoil, Antoine ends his relationship with Christine, saying he never admired her. The agency suspects Fabienne cheating and forces Antoine to come clean. On that same day he is fired from the agency and his detective mentor dies.

Antoine becomes a TV repairman and begins to avoid Christine. His poor driving leads him to crash a van into Christine's dad's car, though no one is harmed. Christine's father forgives him and later discusses Antoine's new job with Christine.

Christine disables the TV to lure Antoine back and calls his company for repairs. He struggles for hours trying to fix a TV that is missing a tube. After this failed repair, they reconcile, sleep together, and he proposes the next morning.

The two stroll in a park, where a man who has tailed Christine declares his permanent love for her. Christine thinks the declaration is insane, while Antoine recognizes a familiar pattern in his own behavior and says he must be like him. The moment underscores the movie's recurring theme of obsessive desire.