The year is 2027, when French society, overwhelmed by a presidential campaign, is crippled by cyber and terrorist attacks. The perpetrators mostly target symbols of modern Western civilization and use digital effects so advanced that it is difficult to distinguish between illusion and reality. Paul Raison, an adviser and confidant of the Minister of Economy, also occasionally falls into irrational dreams while his family life is on the verge of collapse. Although he and his wife live in a luxurious apartment in the middle of Paris, they have long been estranged from each other. They don't even have children, although those "are not enough to save the couple today." He doesn't understand his siblings: his sister from a poor industrial region has stayed at home as a strong believer, his brother allows himself to be trampled by his wife and lives only to restore tapestries. He sees his father more out of duty, his father's girlfriend is afraid of him.
Only an irreversible intervention from above pulls the family out of its sleepy gradual disintegration. Paradoxically, sickness gives birth to the will to live, misfortune is an opportunity for rapprochement. The novel flows magnificently into many streams at the beginning, but many of them weaken and disappear along the way. Chaotic and spontaneous Paris contrasts with the nostalgic and calm countryside, great histories, quite possibly harbingers of future developments, intertwine with timeless individual destinies. As a participant in the political struggle, the economy minister works on his charisma with the help of a consulting firm, the security forces look for a clue that would lead them to the trail of genius terrorists, and meanwhile other heroes learn to listen to the rustle of leaves in the wind and discover the pleasure of amorous touch. However, the proximity of nothingness is omnipresent…