Four Parisian shopgirls seek escape from a dreary, habitual existence as wage slaves: wild girl Jane (Lafont) finds sexual gratification but little else in one-night flings with vulgar men; Rita (Saint-Simon) pins her hopes on marrying a man from a wealthy bourgeois family; gorgeous Ginette (Audran) has a clandestine singing career; and demure Jacqueline (Joano) pines for true love, which arrives in the person of a mysterious biker.

Brimming with the breezy energy of Parisian nightlife, Chabrol's long-neglected New Wave masterwork maps the dreamy desires and frustrated aspirations of four young women bored by their mundane jobs in a deathly quiet appliance store. Homing in on the tawdry emptiness of '60s urban swingers, the hypocrisies of respectable society, and the loutish womanizing of male sexual predators, Chabrol satirizes the times while lavishing tremendous sympathy on his female characters. Shot on location in the hip, fast-moving City of Lights, "Les Bonnes Femmes" is a perfect marriage of splendid acting and intriguing turns of events.