What do Patricia, Badou, François, Dingo and P'tit Jeannot have in common? They live in the Paris suburbs, they are young, they are on the verge of breaking away from school, from the working world or from the Army. Their meeting place is "La Javanaise", a bar held by no-nonsense Janine and her lighter husband Lucien. There they mix with their idol, Daniel, also known as Frankie Mégalo, a film projectionist and a rocker without a band. Most of the efforts of these born idlers will consist in finding a band and a venue for Frankie to perform and in laying hands on cash by means fair or foul to go to the Southern sun.

A disillusioned police detective, used as a scapegoat by his corrupted superior, fights back by becoming a competent criminal.