Foreword Claude Allège; Preface; Preface to the English translation; 1. Mass extinctions; 2. An asteroid impact; 3. From the roof of the world to the Deccan traps; 4. The volcanic scenario; 5. Plumes and hotspots; 6. A remarkable correlation; 7. Nemesis or Shiva?; 8. Chicxulub; 9. Controversy and coincidence; 10. Improbable catastrophes and the flukes of evolution; Index.