In November 1918, a few days before the Armistice, when Lieutenant Pradelle orders a senseless attack, he causes a useless disaster; but his outrageous act also binds the lives of two soldiers who have nothing more in common than the battlefield: Édouard saves Albert, although at a high cost. They become companions in misfortune who will attempt to survive in a changing world. Pradelle, in his own way, does the same.

A steel worker is brutally fired. One morning, while brushing his teeth, he discovers with horror that a piece of wood growed from him back, as an outgrowth of his own body. Soon the piece of wood becomes a sign on which is inscribed in large letters: 'UNEMPLOYED' ... With this sign he will now have to live everyday, facing the gaze of the other people, the employers, his wife ... The task will be difficult especially as the sign soon begins to mutate ...