The Vanishing World

A young Dutch couple travels through France on holiday, sharing a close bond as they drive. Their car eventually runs out of petrol at a rest area, forcing them to pause and reassess. In the moment, they bury two coins at the base of a tree as a symbol of their romance.

Saskia describes a recurring dream of drifting through space in a golden egg, a motif that haunts the narrative. She mentions that in the latest dream an egg containing another person appeared, and that the collision of two eggs would signify the end of something. The dream establishes a symbolic tone for the mystery ahead.

Saskia leaves the car to buy drinks at the petrol station and never returns. Rex searches frantically for her, overwhelmed by fear and uncertainty. The disappearance marks the start of a long, painful search for the truth.

Raymond, a wealthy man, secretly plots to abduct a woman. He buys an isolated house and practices with chloroform, rehearsing methods to lure a victim into his car. His meticulous preparation hints at the chilling crime to come.

Raymond's initial attempts at abduction fail, leading him to adopt a more deceptive approach. He poses as an injured motorist and travels to the rest area out of town, planning to select and ambush a victim there without recognition.

Three years pass and Rex remains determined to find Saskia, clinging to hope. He receives postcards inviting him to meet the kidnapper at a cafe in Nîmes, but the rendezvous never materializes, deepening the mystery of Saskia's fate.

Rex's new girlfriend, Lieneke, reluctantly helps in the search for Saskia. As Rex becomes more obsessed, their relationship strains and eventually ends when she leaves him, unable to cope with his fixation.

Rex experiences a dream in which he is trapped inside a golden egg, echoing Saskia's earlier dream. The recurring dream intensifies his fixation and foreshadows the danger surrounding both of them.

Rex makes a televised public appeal, insisting that he only wants to know what happened to Saskia. The emotional plea broadens the audience's sense of his desperation and determination.

Raymond confronts Rex and admits to the kidnapping, offering to reveal what happened if Rex accompanies him. He discusses his unsettling belief that conscience is tested through the choice to act on evil.

Raymond drives Rex toward the rest area, dismissing Rex's threats of police involvement as there is no apparent evidence. He drugs Rex by pouring a cup of coffee laced with sedatives, turning the journey into a dangerous test.

Rex drinks the drugged coffee and awakens to find himself buried in a box underground. Nearby, the buried coins from years earlier surface as a grim reminder of the two disappearances and the twisted game at play.

Back at his country home, Raymond relaxes with his wife and children, seemingly unbothered by the pursuit. A newspaper in his car carries a headline about the double disappearance of Saskia and Rex, depicting their portraits in two egg-shaped ovals, hinting at the predator's perspective.