Of Money and Blood

France, 2009. Simon Weynachter, director of the national judicial customs service, sets up a new investigation office to fight against financial crime. During a random search, Weynachter and his teams uncover a seemingly ordinary VAT scam involving two Tunisian crooks from the working-class Belleville district, Fitous and Bouli. They establish a connection with a mysterious trader from the wealthy neighborhood, Jérôme Attias.

Fitous, Bouli and Attias are preparing a major scam on the new Overgreen market for buying and reselling carbon quotas. As his investigation progresses, Simon is approached by a whistleblower who reveals to him the possibility of a gigantic fraud on this market of "pollution rights", which is worth billions.

Attias's relatives are worried to see him frequenting Fitous and Bouli; his wife and his billionaire father-in-law know that he is capable of any excesses, whether out of a love of gambling or simple provocation. Simon knows that the carbon financial bomb is going to explode. But where? Simon has no idea; nor does he know where his daughter Émilie is, having gone on the road with her boyfriend, a drug addict like her.

Fitous, Bouli and Attias have settled into a house in Tel Aviv to launch hostilities. Their scam quickly exceeds their expectations and millions are pouring in. To obtain information, Simon places Annabelle, Attias' wife, in custody, thus also putting pressure on her father. Simon finally manages to locate the trio in Israel.

In Tel Aviv, Anton Zagury, a figure of the banditry with whom Simon is in contact, agrees to play the role of informant in exchange for a tax arrangement with the French authorities. Attias, Fitous and Bouli continue to rake in millions. The fraud threatens to quickly get out of control. Simon returns to France to alert the authorities who turn a deaf ear. But in Tel Aviv, his informant has come into contact with the crooks.

Simon mounts an operation to arrest Fitous, Bouli and Attias in Tel Aviv. But a blunder by the French authorities compromises the intervention. Simon can only count on Zagury's testimony, but the French authorities refuse to make the financial deal he demands. When Simon learns that Attias has been overtaken by the Tunisians, he decides to play this last card.

Released on bail, the carbon crooks set off on a world tour of casinos, spending lavishly and living in luxury with the money stolen from the French state. Carbon money is now a trail of blood in the Pacific Ocean: the "billions" of these small-time crooks attract major crime.

After Bouli's murder, Simon wonders about Attias' possible guilt; obsessed with this investigation, he keeps up the pressure to push Attias into making a mistake. Attias' father-in-law tries to get rid of his son-in-law who humiliates his daughter by making a spectacle of himself on the arm of Julia, a model. Attias becomes the agent of chaos, a role he seems to take on with pleasure, as if, in front of Simon, he could finally invent a destiny for himself.

Intoxicated by the danger, Attias now seeks to associate himself with Italian mafiosi, friends of Julia. Simon watches him sink into excess… Questioned once again about their crazy spending, Fitous gets away with it thanks to his usual trick. But he makes his first mistake: Simon discovers at his home an unsuspected clue that links him to an offshore carbon company.

While Fitous is on the run, Attias is caught in a downward spiral. A cocaine addict and under pressure from Simon, who is more obsessed than ever with the investigation, Attias makes a series of mistakes. In his mad race for money, he teams up with dangerous traffickers. Thanks to Simon's stubbornness, the noose tightens around the trader.

Riddled with debts contracted with dangerous mafiosi and caught in the net of the investigation, Attias struggles and tries to get some air. Playing his last card, Attias hatches a new scheme to escape his creditors: an insider trading that he "sells" to a financier friend. But, once again, nothing goes as planned.

Held captive in a sordid suburban apartment, Attias and his friend are terrified. Their captors seem to have understood the interest of financial scams and offshore companies. Attias manages to escape, but Simon finds him. While investigating this mysterious company in the third American market, he discovers that it is in fact linked to Attias.