But why did the sacristan of Obaix devour his father, his mother, a number of women, and his cat? Joseph Charles, sacristan of a small town in French-speaking Europe, loses his wife in highly mysterious circumstances. On her deathbed, she left him a child, whom the sacristan gave to a charity. Living alone since his wife's death, the sacristan is no longer able to cope with the daily grind of his poor existence. The sacristy has become a veritable pigsty and the housework is insurmountable.