Monsieur Lambert is a gentle, sophisticated and unmistakably French illustrated story for adults. In this short graphic novel, Sempé tells the story of a group of regulars at a Parisian bistro, who see each other for lunch every day, without fail. They are creatures of habit, eating the same set meals on the same day, week in and week out. One day, however, one of their group, Monsier Lambert, does not turn up at the usual time, and the other regulars soon turn to speculating as to the reasons for the sudden and unexpected changes in their fellow diner – it surely must be because of a woman, they conclude.
 
The restaurant and its regulars are vividly brought to life in a series of drawings which, together with the handwritten speech bubbles and laconic texts, display Sempé’s usual unerring eye and ear for the telling details of human behaviour.