Summary

The novel begins with a description of the functioning of a human heart – specifically the heart of 19-year-old Simon Limbres as his alarm clock sounds at 5:50 a.m.

In the next chapter, Simon and his two friends, Johan and Christophe arrive at the beach in Christophe's van to go surfing. It is a cold morning, but the waves are perfect, and the boys exhaust themselves riding them.

On the way home, Christophe inadvertently drives off the road, striking a pole. Simon, sitting in front between the other two boys, was not wearing a seatbelt, and consequently flies through the windshield. Emergency services arrive on the scene shortly thereafter.

At the hospital, Dr. Pierre Révol arrives to begin his shift in the ICU. A new nurse is working in the ward, a woman named Cordélia Owl. Cordélia had seen her lover...