Adapted from author Franck Thilliez's first novel to feature both his recurring characters, Franck Sharko and Lucie Henebelle, who had previously each appeared in two solo novels. The first Lucie Henebelle had previously been adapted into a feature film, La chambre des morts (2007).
The novel's rights were acquired in 2012 by American companies Paramount Pictures and Indian Paintbrush with the aim of adapting it as an English language feature film. The project, which was to be produced by Garrett Basch, Steven Rales, Mark Roybal and Steven Zaillian and written by Mark Heyman failed to materialize, and after five years the rights expired and were picked up by French company Escazal Films who started developing it as a TV series. The TV series was initially set to be co-written by Franck Thilliez, adapting his own work with Diane Clavier and co-produced by Federation Entertainment, who would also have handled international sales, before settling in its current incarnation.