In 1988, after much cunning political maneuvering, Loïk Le Floch-Prigent and Alfred Sirven become the chief executives at Elf. They discover a company that runs on kickbacks: in exchange for the oil rights, Elf makes handsome but discreet payoffs to the leaders of African nations. With the tacit complicity of President Mitterrand, and with eventual political and personal interests in mind, the new management takes charge of the slush fund. Within months, Sirven, Le Floch-Prigent and his wife Fatima Belaïd fill their pockets with more than they could ever have imagined.