The Sucker

Antoine Maréchal leaves Paris for his summer vacation but is soon involved in a collision with Léopold Saroyan's Rolls-Royce. The crash wrecks his 2CV, and Saroyan offers him compensation: drive a friend's Cadillac from Naples to Bordeaux, with all expenses paid. Maréchal agrees, unaware of what he is stepping into.

Maréchal collects the Cadillac in Naples, and Saroyan's gang shadows him from the start. Unknown to Maréchal, the Cadillac is filled with heroin, gold, and precious stones, including the legendary Youkounkoun diamond. The journey begins under a cloud of danger.

During an early collision, a repairman discovers gold hidden in the car and removes it. Maréchal continues toward Rome, completely unaware of the car's true cargo and the danger surrounding it.

In Rome, a pretty manicurist named Gina joins Maréchal; she says she only does it to make her fiancé jealous. Her presence complicates the journey as she secretly plays with loyalties and motives. The unexpected partnership signals the start of a more tangled chase.

Gina soon arranges for a pretty German hitchhiker named Ursula to accompany Maréchal. Ursula's arrival adds another layer of unpredictability as the car remains shadowed by rival gangs. The dynamic shifts as they all press on toward the French border.

The Italian gang steals the Cadillac at night, triggering a pursuit by Saroyan's men. A gun battle ensues, during which all the heroin is destroyed and the car is recovered by Maréchal. The stolen treasure's fate becomes tangled with new acts of violence.

Mickey, one of the Italian crooks, seduces Ursula and tries to kill Maréchal in an isolated spot. Ursula sabotages the car battery, preventing the theft and saving Maréchal's life. Her intervention alters the course of the pursuit.

Left to his own devices, Maréchal installs a new battery and disposes of the ruined one—still full of diamonds—into the sea. The immediate danger eases, but the trip continues toward Bordeaux.

Crossing the border into France at Menton, Maréchal sees Saroyan's car being stripped by the police and realizes the crooks want the car he's driving. The realization reframes the chase as a national-crossing race toward safety. The tension escalates as pursuit persists.

Maréchal calls his old friend, now chief of police in Carcassonne, who helps lure Saroyan and the Italians into the unmarked side door of the police station. A swift plan leads to the criminals' arrest and a dramatic reset of the chase. The police victory is uneasy, given the personal stakes involved.

Taking the Cadillac toward Bordeaux, Maréchal endures another accident with Saroyan's prison transport and finally discovers the Youkounkoun diamond. He now expects a reward of 100 million francs for the recovery and safe transport of the cargo. The endgame brings the payoff into view.

As they are ferried to police headquarters inside the wrecked Cadillac, Maréchal and Saroyan begin to strike up a peculiar friendship over their shared misadventure. The shared danger shifts their dynamic from adversaries to wary allies. The film closes on an odd note of camaraderie amid consequences.