Father Sourire, who came to the Château de Villetaneuse to ask for alms, was forced to put on the uniform of the nephew who had fled from the barracks. A soldier in spite of himself, he knows the most frightening adventures which even lead him to a boxing fight from which he will emerge victorious.

Valerian writes his uncle, colonial millionaire, for money. He meets a quartermaster, Napoleon, who pretends to be a doctor of law. They become friends.

Freshly married, Yvonne and Jacques discover on their return from their honeymoon that they are poor and that their respective parents have lied to them. They are going to have to work hard; but everything will work out eventually.

Léonce Vavin, an entomologist, marries Cecile Debienne, but the parents of the bride quickly realize that he's not just ugly but also a complete ignorant of all sexual matters.

Barnabé, an occasional flutist, goes to Mme Petit-Durand to organize her daughter's 20 years. But he is confused with the Count of Marengo whom Mme Petit-Durand wants to give as husband to her daughter, who has already made her choice.

The hunter at Maxim's, whose family is unaware of the profession, turns around and plans to marry his daughter to a marquis when he recognizes a regular in this nobility. Everyone meets at Maxim's where, unmasked, the hunter agrees to marry his daughter to the reveler but repentant Marquis.

Despite her success, writer Francine Margerie is let down to see that she is not nominated for the Legion of Honor award. One solution could be to sleep with Champmorel, the Director of Fine Arts and one of the judges for the awarding of the coveted medal.

Cambo, a banker, has been in trouble since a certain Parizot has tried to extort stocks from him. Following the advice of his friend Quincampoix, Cambo decides to trade places with Bardac, a painter, who happens to be his lookalike. Bardac slips into Cambo's shoes with delight although he does not really live up to his task. But Cambo, who manages to ruin Parizot, makes a 100% profit on the situation. There are of course some misunderstandings when one man is mistaken for the other, notably as concerns Lulu and Geneviève, respectively Bardac's and Cambo's sweethearts, but things finally return to their initial state.