When on-the-lam crook Richard (Lionel Stander) and his injured partner-in-crime, Albie (Jack MacGowran), seek shelter in a remote castle by the sea, they find themselves confronted by the owners -- George (Donald Pleasence), an eccentric and weak retiree, and his oversexed wife, Teresa (Fran├зoise Dorl├йac). Richard seizes control of the castle, but, as the criminals are pulled further into the isolated world of the strange couple, a volatile test of wills ensues.