The peace of Trépigny is shattered when the new mayor Lebrennois sets out to modernise the little village and make it more attractive to tourists. Opposed to his schemes is the village's stationmaster Gargousse, a free-spirited soul who poaches in his spare time and has no time for Lebrennois's grand ambitions. Relations between Gargousse and the mayor are further strained when the former's goddaughter Antoinette begins an affair with the latter's nephew Allain. The mayor insists that the railway line is out-dated and should be replaced with a more efficient coach service. By taking up Lebrennois's offer of a duel, Gargousse has one last chance to save his job and discredit the unpopular mayor...

Charles's uncle is the headmaster of a chic girls school .He is short of the readies and he has lots and lots of debts.

Out of love for an actress, Isabelle, the Baron de Sigognac joins a traveling troop en route to Paris. When an actor dies, he takes over his role: that of Captain Fracasse.

Biography and apology of the famous pilot, nicknamed by some the Archangel, who organized the airmail network of South America, flew the first over the Andes Cordillera, maintained the mystique of the South Atlantic, militated in the Crosses of Fire and perished at the controls of "La Croix du Sud" during its twenty-fourth crossing.