Here is the story of a beautiful, proud and tough loner, a sailor named Querelle, whose commanding officer Seblon worships and desires him from afar. Querelle turns on his drugs-smuggling partner and murders him. He then goes to a notorious brothel run by the rapacious Lysiane, who leads Querelle into his first homosexual encounter. Then, Querelle has become vulnerable and soft, and soon the once powerful object of passion comes to belong to Seblon.