A few days before the end of the 20th century, the world fervently awaits the year 2000. In order to escape the global hysteria and the final countdown, a group of friends, led by François, escape the seasonal celebrations and exile themselves to an island off Ajacci, the "Sanguinaires". The temptations to cheat on the rules they've set up to cut themselves off from the world are numerous, but, even so, they manage to do well in this little adventure. Only François cannot find his place in what he himself wanted and organized. No matter how strong his will, after excluding himself from the world, he distances himself from his closest friends, then Catherine, his lover. Little by little, he feels that this beautiful calm island and Stephane, the young man who greets them there, are associated with the same mystery, which alienates him and forces him into the ultimate retreat. On New Year's Eve, at the final stroke of midnight, François disappears.