The story is set in France at the beginning of the 1960s. Wrestling is all the rage. Simon and Victor are friends and opponents in the ring. In their well-rehearsed act, Simon a.k.a. "The Ghost" wears a white mask, while Victor is “the Slaughterer of Belleville" and attracts the audience’s wrath. But he ends up suffocating under his executioner’s mask. At least once in his life, he would like to be the one who is applauded. Simon suggests to Victor that they change masks. But one does not change roles so easily. Becoming the other is not without its consequences.