影片根据巴尔扎克小说《十三人的故事》改编，时间则搬在1968年法国五月革命之后作为背景，两个剧团分别重排古希腊戏剧《七雄攻忒拜》与《被缚的普罗米修斯》，后者与一个神秘组织“13”有关。这个组织到底是什么性质，又从何而来呢？"Out 1" is a very precise picture of post May '68 malaise - when Utopian dreams of a new society had crashed and burned, radical terrorism was starting to emerge in unlikely places and a great many other things. Two marginals who don't know one another stumble into the remnants of a "secret society": Colin, a seemingly deaf-mute who all of a sudden begins to talk and Frederique, a con artist working the "short con" (stealing drinks and tricking men who think she's a hooker out of their money). Meanwhile there are two theater groups rehearsing classic Greek dramas: "Seven Against Thebes" and "Prometheus Bound". A member of the Moretti group passes a note to Leaud about "The 13" which sends Leaud on a search for "The 13". His search brings him eventually to Bulle Ogier's shop in Les Halles "L'Angle du Hasard." Berto follows much the same path when she steals a cachet of letters from Jacques Doniol-Valcroze and tries to get money from their owners for their return. These twin activities reactivate "The 13" which had been dormant for years, revealing among other things that the two theater groups were once one.