Les jeux sont faits

Les jeux sont faits is a screenplay written by Jean-Paul Sartre in 1943 and published in 1947. The title translates literally as "The Plays are Made", an idiomatic French expression used mainly in casino gambling meaning the bets have been placed. An English translation (no longer in print) was made from the French by Louise Varése in 1952, and published as The Chips Are Down. The story is set in Paris, in a setting vaguely suggestive of either occupied France or Vichy France during World War II. The plot concerns two characters, Pierre Dumaine and Ève Charlier. They are predestined to be soulmates, but this destiny is prevented by their premature violent deaths, and they do not meet until passing into the afterlife. Ève and Pierre have...