An aristocratic family is shaken after their 12 year-old son is accidentally involved in the murder of a prostitute. The affair causes a sensation, all the more so as the boy's mother, a magistrate, happens to be in charge of the case. The boy is given shelter by a museum guard in his home. There, he watches his over-protective mother on TV giving instructions to the police to apprehend the murderer. As the police close in, the mother loses her poise and, in a moment of cathartic confession, reveals her family's tangled secrets to the terrified guard in an unforgettable scene inside the museum. This rich cinematic work, full of ambiguous meanings, has sharply drawn characters who, like their tongue-in-cheek dialogue, are more symbolic than real. Letter of Fire is an unusual and challenging work.