一艘船停泊在布瑞斯特港，船上有个名叫奎雷尔的英俊水手（布拉德·戴维斯 Brad Davis 饰）。他被船上少校赛隆（弗兰克·尼洛 Franco Nero 饰）暗暗迷恋着，还和船长罗伯特（汉诺·波西尔 Hanno Pöschl 饰）保持暧昧关系；他勾搭当地酒吧老板诺诺（冈瑟·考夫曼 饰），主动在色子游戏里输给他以便和他发生关系；他贩毒，还杀掉了同伙，警察马里奥（伯克哈德·德里斯特 Burkhard Driest 饰）盯上了他，又迷上了他；年轻人吉尔（汉诺·波西尔 Hanno Pöschl 饰）也爱上了他，还被他嫁祸杀人罪名；诺诺的妻子吕西娜（让娜·莫罗 Jeanne Moreau 饰）也对他兴趣满满……
英俊的奎雷尔，狠心的奎雷尔，谁也说不清他到底爱谁，谁都甘愿做他手里的棋子，塞隆上校看着一切，知晓一切，每天对着录音机讲述自己的爱慕之情……

Born into a well-off family, Franz Blum had led a carefree youth until, some time after graduating from high school, he was arrested by the police. For, involved by a gang of bad boys, the young man had taken part in a bank robbery. A "heroic deed" which earned him six years in prison. Once behind bars, he was treated with ruthless inhumanity by the guards. And little by little - but inexorably - Franz turned into an insurgent...