The Scarlet Lady

Lucille discovers Julien has bankrupted her family business, cheated her out of her wealth, and left her penniless. The shock drives her to seek escape in champagne and caviar, while her thoughts drift toward revenge and suicide as a possible end. She begins to frame revenge as the only path to reclaim some control, planning to act after the initial shock wears off.

Overwhelmed by the loss, Lucille resolves that revenge must come first and that suicide can wait. She decides to kill Julien before taking her own life, and learns that he travels to Paris every Friday, so she postpones any act for a week. The plan lingers as a looming countdown against the Friday deadline.

Lucille travels to Paris and buys an Austin Princess luxury car to carry out her plan. She continues her lavish spending on designer clothes and fine food, using the glamour of her new life as cover while quietly preparing for the confrontation with Julien. Her motive remains intense, even as the city glitter distracts her from the violence she contemplates.

Lucille invites François, a marine salvage expert she has just met, to a romantic lunch atop the Eiffel Tower. During the meal she reveals her intention to end her life later that week, and François expresses genuine concern and promises not to leave her side. After lunch she manages to elude him, and he cannot follow.

François begins a desperate search for the elusive Lucille, believing she might be planning something drastic. He tracks down all Austin Princess owners in Paris, hoping to locate her, while Lucille continues her spree and keeps her true plan hidden. His pursuit remains fruitless for the moment.

Lucille becomes entangled with a cast of characters—a New York News correspondent, a shady Spaniard, and a drug-addled manager of a rock group—while keeping up her extravagant lifestyle. These interactions complicate her mission and underscore how her life intersects with others on a city-wide chessboard.

On Thursday night, a man mistakes her for a prostitute and takes her back to his place. She spends time with him and, at the end, gives him the 300 francs she had been paid, illustrating her moral detachment and the transactional nature of her existence. The episode further isolates her from the world she used to inhabit.

On Friday, Lucille meets Julien at Paris-Orly Airport, pretending to have a wealthy investor who can buy back the company. Julien follows her to a hotel room and accompanies her to an appointment in Chantilly. She draws a gun and declares she will force him to come along, planning to commit murder en route.

As the plan unfolds in the car, Lucille intends to crash the vehicle into an electrical pole, killing them both. At the last moment she hesitates, telling Julien that his disgust will save his life, and she drives away instead. The failed murder attempt shatters the last illusions of control surrounding her revenge.

Back in Paris, François spots Lucille's Austin Princess by chance and follows her to the Eiffel Tower, hoping to intervene and perhaps save her from herself. His concern for her deepens as he closes in on the person behind the plan, even though he still does not fully understand her motives.

At the Eiffel Tower's summit, Lucille contemplates ending her life, but something stops her from taking the final step. François arrives at the top, and the moment signals a turning point as their tense, unspoken connection begins to override despair.

Instead of a definitive conclusion, Lucille and François meet again at the tower's restaurant area and share a small, hopeful smile. The scene hints at a possible future between them, tempered by the trauma and ambiguity that brought them together.