A little town in the north of France, 1941. Blanche has three children. She worries about her husband Victor, who often goes out at night. Actually, Victor belongs to the Resistance. Soon, Blanche will be a resistant too. In the network, there is also Germinal, the hairdresser. His daughter Marie knows everything and asks to be part of it... Chronicle of the occupation and of the resistance through the eyes of the women.

This effective, straightforward story about the birth and on-going life of a young man at the beginning of the 20th century reflects the political and social history of his time. Adrien (child, Bertrand Sautereau, adult, Serge Dominque) was born in a field to a mother who had lived as a shepherdess. She died when he was born. As he grows up under harsh treatment by his grandfather, World War I and labor unrest simmer and explode in the background. Finally rebelling against his grandfather, Adrien runs away and stays with another family for awhile. But the lure of finding his place in the world continues. He gets a job and eventually falls in love, though nothing in his life comes along easily and some of the biases he experiences have more than social nuances as Europe simmers again on the way to World War II.

A confirmed bachelor, a council employee from a small village, is fascinated by a refined schoolteacher.