Édith Giovanna Gassion is born in 1915. As a young girl she sings on the streets of Paris until a nightclub owner, Louis Leplée, discovers her. When he is murdered the composer Raymond Asso takes care of her and lets her perform at the ABC theatre, which leads to her breakthrough.

Two crooks think up a scheme to get rich at the expense of the vain and excessive Grand Duke.

Gaëtan (Sim), a small-town hotelier, schemes to scrape together enough money to travel to Paris for a belote tournament, resorting to increasingly dubious tricks and hiding his savings inside his beloved bagpipes.

While escaping from prison to be with her lesbian friend, a 19-year-old girl breaks her ankle and is picked up by an ex-con, with whom she begins a passionate affair. She finally turns to prostitution and robbery to support herself.