The plot centers on the handsome Belgian sailor Georges Querelle, who is also a thief and murderer. When his ship, ''Le Vengeur'', arrives in Brest, France, he visits the ''Feria'', a bar and brothel for sailors run by the Madame Lysiane, whose lover, Robert, is Querelle's brother. Querelle has a love/hate relationship with his brother, but when they meet at La Feria, they embrace, but also punch one another slowly and repeatedly in the belly. Lysiane's husband Nono tends bar and manages La Feria's underhanded affairs with the assistance of his friend, the corrupt police captain Mario.