Catherine Robbe-Grillet, 84, defies the relations between power and submission, sensuality and physical pain in her quest for exploration eroticism and the world of sadomasochism. She and her closest companions share views on art, norms, identity, ageing, loneliness, friendship, and love, being on the other side of social conventional boundaries. THE CEREMONY delves into what motivates decisions, not only those concerning desire and sexuality, but behavior in general. S/M practices and codes serve simply as a magnifying glass through which the driving forces of the individual are examined.