Irena Gallier travels to New Orleans to reconnect with her brother Paul. Both orphaned after their parents died, Irena has been in foster care her entire life. Paul, not so lucky, spent his childhood in and out of institutions and jail. They return to Paul's home where his Creole housekeeper Female (pronounced feh-MAH-leh) helps Irena settle into her brothers house.
Nomi Malone is a young drifter who hitchhikes to Las Vegas hoping to make it as a showgirl. After being cheated of her money by her driver, Nomi meets Molly Abrams, a seamstress and costume designer who takes her in as a roommate. Molly invites Nomi backstage at Goddess, the Stardust Casino show where she works, to meet Cristal Connors, the diva star of the topless dance revue. When Nomi tells Cristal she dances at Cheetah's Topless Club, Cristal derisively tells her that what she does is akin to prostitution. When Nomi is too upset to go to work that night, Molly takes her dancing at The Crave Club. After getting into a fight with James, a bouncer at the club, Nomi is arrested. James bails her out of jail, but she pays him little notice.
Séverine Serizy (Catherine Deneuve), a young and beautiful housewife, is unable to share physical intimacy with her husband, Dr. Pierre Serizy (Jean Sorel), despite their love for each other. Her sexual life is restricted to elaborate fantasies involving domination, sadomasochism, and bondage. Although frustrated by his wife's frigidity toward him, he respects her wishes.
Emmanuelle (Sylvia Kristel) flies to Bangkok to meet her husband Jean (Daniel Sarky), a diplomat, who asks her if she had any other lovers while she was in Paris; she replies that she has not. After taking a nude swim, Emmanuelle is approached by a pretty young girl named Marie-Ange (Christine Boisson), who asks to meet Emmanuelle at her house.
27-year-old St. Louis advertising executive, Max Baron (James Spader), has completely shut himself off from the world in the two years since the auto accident that killed his wife Janey (Maria Pitillo). On the way to the bachelor party of his friend, Neil (Jason Alexander), he picks up 50 burgers from a diner called White Palace. At the party, he discovers that the order is six burgers short and, to the ridicule of his friends, returns to the restaurant to complain. In a moment that defines his initial character, Max declares, "It's the principle." He is roundly mocked by his cohorts who make it clear that they favor money over principle.
Gas station attendant Clint Ramsey, who works at Martin Bormann's Super Service in the desert, finds himself too irresistible to a series of girls, all of whom have the word "Super" in their given names. In the beginning, he is married to the hypersexual, demanding, and jealous SuperAngel (Shari Eubank), who constantly harasses him at work. She orders him home at once when she calls Clint and overhears a female customer, SuperLorna (Christy Hartburg), hitting on him at work. Clint finds SuperAngel's constant accusations and arguing a turnoff and, back at home, they fight after he rejects her aggressive advances. A neighbor calls the police as Clint leaves for a local bar, where the bartender is the very scantily clad SuperHaji (Haji).
The majority of the film consists of Randy, Carl, and Dehling reciting their separate lovesick accounts of their experiences with Jewel, each narrating over what they consider to be the real version of the recent events. Scenes are often re-enacted twice, with different accounts contradicting each other for comedic effect. For example, when Dehling is narrating, he acts as if he were a completely fair, by-the-book police officer, and Randy is painted as a slimy, macho, abusive thug. When Randy is telling the story, he is the innocent victim and Dehling is shown as a suspicious, prying, hard-nosed cop; Carl is convinced that every woman is in love with him, and during his version of the tale, everyone acts accordingly.
On a snowy evening, the middle-aged bachelor Seligman (Stellan Skarsgård) finds the self-diagnosed nymphomaniac Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg) beaten up and lying in the alleyway behind his apartment. He takes her back to his home and, over tea, listens intently as Joe recounts the eventful story of her libidinous life. Seligman, a highly-educated but cloistered man, connects and analyzes Joe's stories with what he has read about.
The confessions of a sadomasochistic sexually obsessed patient disclosed as fantasies during Manhattan psychiatrist sessions begin to permeate the troubled doctor's subconscious as erotic dreams. This leads to a heated love affair. At the same time a series of shocking murders occur with evidence suggesting it is her new lover / patient.
Emily Reed (Otis) travels to New York City for an interview with an international law firm, which immediately offers her a job on the condition that she can fly to Rio de Janeiro the following morning. Emily agrees and is introduced to Claudia Dennis (Bisset), one of the firm's top executives. They arrive in Rio to finalize the purchase of a hotel, but angry Claudia must fly to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to meet the man the hotel's owner. Claudia instructs Emily to take her date for the night. While viewing the hotel, Emily sees two locals having animalistic sex, which unnerves her and she returns to her own hotel. She meets Claudia's date; a wealthy man named James Wheeler (Rourke). They have dinner, accompanied by James' bodyguards.
A conceited Ming dynasty scholar, Weiyangsheng, believes that since life is short, one should pursue the ultimate sexual pleasure as time permits. By chance, he meets Yuxiang, the daughter of the Taoist priest Tie Fei, falls in love with her on first sight, and marries her. Yuxiang is elegant and courteous under the influence of her father's faith, though her lack of passion cannot fully satisfy Weiyangsheng's sexual needs. His disappointment is no less than his affection for her. He ventures in search of ways to increase his sex drive and performance in bed.
Miriam Blaylock (Catherine Deneuve) is a beautiful and dangerous immortal vampire, promising specially chosen humans eternal life as her vampire lovers. As the film begins, her vampire companion is John (David Bowie), a talented cellist whom she married in 18th century France. The film opens in a night club in New York, to a live performance from Bauhaus. There they connect with another young couple who are brought home and fed upon by slashing their throats with a bladed Ankh pendant. The bodies are disposed of by an incinerator in the basement of John and Miriam's elegant New York townhouse, where they pose as a wealthy couple who teach classical music. The only student shown is a young tomboy violinist named Alice Cavender (Beth Ehlers).
Ayre "Mac" MacGillvary (Bo Derek), a virginal young woman, on graduating from an exclusive British boarding school, is determined to find the right man for her first sexual encounter wherever he might be in the world. Rich enough not to venture forth alone, she brings along her friend Catalina (Ana Obregon) and the family chauffeur Cotton (George Kennedy).
Just Jaeckin (réalisateur d'"Emmanuelle") signe un thriller politico-érotique, emmené par Françoise Fabian, très convaincante dans le rôle de Madame Claude, la plus célèbre proxénète française.