十九世纪的巴黎，贫困的冉•阿让（Jean Gabin）因为偷一块面包被判处十九年的苦役。出狱后，走投无路的他被好心的主教（René Fleur）收留过夜，可是他却偷走了主教的银器。警察将他抓获，准备再次将他投入监狱，临危之际，主教的谎言将他拯救，他也得到感化，化名开始了洗心革面的生活。
十年过去，冉•阿让通过努力成为成功的商人并当上市长，得知妓女芳汀的悲惨遭遇后，他担负起照顾其私生女儿柯赛特的责任。他没想到的是，多年后会重遇以前缉拿过他的警长沙威（Bernard Blier），对方不信他已改邪归正，一心要找他的麻烦，只因证据不足迟迟没能得手，然而，他的好运没能持续到八年之后。

The seven stages of woman – seven stories about French women and love in the sixties. Childhood: A seven-year-old girl wants to know the secrets of birth. Her parents do not know how to explain such a delicate matter... Adolescence: A sixteen-year-old girl is flirting with several admirers. Her parents must help her to find the right way... Virginity: A young man wants to spend his first night with his fiancée. As she hesitates, he decides to wait just a little longer... Marriage: A recently married a couple soon find their honeymoon almost spoiled by jealousy... Adultery: A frustrated married woman takes a lover but the reaction of her husband is not be what she had expected... Divorce: A bored couple decide to divorce, but family friends and lawyers will almost spoil the love they still have for each other... The single woman: A gentle crook takes advantage of women and always get away with a minor sentence. His last victim will prove to be smarter than him...
By Willems Henri

A struggling artist buys a talisman that gives him love, fame and wealth. The talisman is a severed left hand, and it works perfectly, in fact, magically. But of course there is nothing free in this world, and after one year the devil comes and asks for his due.