Algiers, 1938. An unassuming man in his early thirties, Meursault, attends his mother's funeral, at which he does not cry.

The next day, he begins a casual affair with his colleague Marie and slips back into his daily routine. But life is soon disrupted by his neighbour Sintès, who draws Meursault into an altercation over an ex-lover.

Then, one blisteringly hot afternoon, an inexplicable tragic event occurs on a beach; one that will see Meursault's very moral standing brought into question.