In the town of Crozon in Brittany, a library houses manuscripts that were rejected for publication. Young editor Delphine Despero is thrilled to discover a novel so powerful that she feels compelled to bring it back to Paris to publish it. The book is a sensation, prompting interest in the identity of its author - apparently one Henri Pick, a now-deceased pizza chef. Sceptics cry that the whole thing is a hoax: how could this man have written such a masterpiece? An obstinate journalist, Jean-Michel Rouche, heads to Brittany to investigate.