Icon of French fatalism, Jean Gabin, plays Francois, who sits locked in his room, a gun in his hand, having just committed the murder of the man who has thwarted his love to a florist. As he contemplates his fate, he reflects on how events have conspired to bring his life to this conclusion - starting with falling in love with a young woman whose attentions are soon distracted by the arrival of Machiavellian dog trainer Valentin.