A lot has changed for Antoine Jouin since Season 1. He is now married (but not to Jeanne) and a father to little Angèle, but still works as an inspector in the Crime Squad. As solitary as ever and still disliked by his colleagues, his poor reputation could end up costing him his place at the Prefecture, especially as he uncovers more and more of the Vice Squad’s secrets.

The former mistress of late president Félix Faure, who died “in her arms”, Meg is now under the protection of Prefect Lépine. Married to painter Adolphe Steinheil, she uses her husband’s private art exhibitions as a cover for a gambling ring in their home. Fiersi, meanwhile, is charged with collecting debts from unlucky gamblers. But their little criminal syndicate may be on the brink of collapse.

Since losing his wife in 1903, Prefect Lépine has been in the throes of depression. He harbors certain doubts about his role as head of the Prefecture and is thinking of resigning. Then, when a newborn baby dies following a street raid of prostitutes ordered by Lépine on Christmas Eve, his decision becomes all the more pressing.

To the great displeasure of his wife, Fiersi has been in Meg’s employ since leaving the Prefecture. It is not long before Fiersi must choose between his family and his work.

Jeanne Chauvin is now an associate at the Weidmann & Chauvin law firm, where she has already pled three cases (and lost each one of them). She has stopped seeing Inspector Jouin, but the Dantremont affair soon draws the two back together and might even restore her confidence as a lawyer.

Cochefert still rules the Crime Squad with an iron fist and is particularly tough on Antoine Jouin, for whom he acts as a genuine adoptive father. However, he soon takes on a more protective role when Jouin begins to dig too deep into the Vice Squad’s dark secrets.

Ever the struggling artist, Adolphe’s paintings serve only to justify the copious sums of cash coming in from Meg’s gambling ring. But his life is then turned upside-down when he discovers that he has caught syphilis. Adolphe’s hour of revenge is nigh and Meg will have her comeuppance.

Louise is Prefect Lépine’s devout Catholic daughter. Following her mother’s death, she has moved in with her father at the Prefecture and does not hesitate to meddle in his political and private life.