故事发生在1819年的巴黎，年轻的大学生拉斯蒂涅（布鲁诺·加尔辛 Bruno Garcin 饰）入住伏盖公寓，住在隔壁的，是一个名叫高里奥（查尔斯·文恩 Charles Vanel 饰）的老头。高老头有两个如花似玉的女儿，他将自己全部的积蓄和心血都倾注在了她们的身上。
在高老头的努力之下，大女儿嫁给了名为雷思多（Elia Clermont 饰）的年轻伯爵，小女儿嫁给了银行家纽沁根（Monique Nevers 饰），高老头非常欣慰自己的孩子找到了好的归宿，可实际上，他的女儿和女婿们都只不过把他当成是摇钱树而已。拉斯蒂涅非常渴望巴黎上流社会夜夜笙歌的奢靡生活，也想要加入其中。

Alain Revent, a seductive and refined man, derives a peculiar satisfaction from debasing his wives. The first, driven to the brink of despair, throws herself out of a window. Enlisting the help of an equally perverse casual acquaintance, Dino, the "handsome brute" proceeds to emotionally torture his second wife, Nathalie. The sadistic plan is picked up on by Officer Leroy who suspects the truth. Will he be able to snatch the unfortunate woman from the evil Alain's clutches?

根据弗朗西斯·扎姆波尼的小说改编。1995年，陆军退役上校拉乌尔·杜普朗在其巴黎住所被人暗杀，头部中了一弹。办案人员接到匿名人士的一封信，信中宣称：“上校死在圣阿尔诺”。
1957年，在阿尔及利亚东部的圣阿尔诺，年轻的军事法官基·罗西在杜普朗上校的手下办案。他在虐刑拷打和特别权力机构全速开动的机器中变成了刽子手，40年后，杜普朗上校遭到了报应。

This South American adventure drama finds Charles (Charles Aznavour), a youthful Frenchman traveling to Paraguay to start a new life. Seeking out a rich uncle, the idealistic nephew is rejected by his miserly relation, and he goes on to get involved with a shady woman and a band of gun runners who supply arms for the revolution of the week. Charles and his new girlfriend head for the border after a shootout with federal troops, and a kindly railroad worker hides the couple in an abandoned copper mine. Charles is later thrown in prison while the girl becomes a concubine, but her violator is killed when Charles escapes to rescue her and exact revenge. A pretty harrowing composition could be written by the young couple on "How I Spent My Summer Vacation."