Maroîs, the fairground bon vivant, spends most of his time around a bottle of wine, in the company of his friend Michaux, with whom he was once a sailor. He neglects his wife Monique, a pretty girl much younger than himself. Suffering from this indifference, she seeks imperfect and fleeting consolation, first from Michel, their friend's son, then from Jean-Louis, a young mechanic who has helped out with Maroîs' truck and won his trusting friendship. Michel, jealous, tells the showman of his misf...