Set in France in the 1930s, L'Art de vivre evokes the contrasting worlds of a wealthy, socially prominent Parisian couple, and an impoverished struggling American sculptor living in Paris. The aristocratic couple occupy an elegant penthouse apartment and frequent the highest levels of society and government. The artist shares a very humble apartment with his girlfriend and scrapes by, earning a living from the few students he can still attract and the occasional sculpture he can sell. These worlds, which are physically only a mile apart, come together as a result of an improbable set of circumstances involving thefts, a suspected murder, and a high profile police investigation. Newspapers all over France report excitedly on the mystery surrounding the artist, as his friends try to understand what has become of him. Friends of the aristocratic couple never suspect the obsessive secret that drives them to risk their position and fortune through a daring crime spree.