Jacques Mesrine (Vincent Cassel) rises from a wayward French soldier in Algeria to a bolder and bolder criminal on the streets of Paris.
Mesrine gets a taste for raw power after an episode interrogating a prisoner, and once back in France he realizes that power and money are all there for the taking. His only obstacle is Guido, the ruthless local crime boss (Gérard Depardieu).
Once Mesrine meets the beautiful and equally reckless Jeanne Schneider (Cécile de France), he has a Bonnie to match his Clyde. They launch into a string of armed robberies that takes them from Paris all the way to Montreal.