Antoine Vautier is a failed actor. A director hires Christian, Antoine's son, for a film. He immediately becomes a star. Antoine suffers from it. Christian's second film is a disaster and faced with the collapse of his son, Antoine forgets his jealousy.

At the urging of his over-protective father, André Carel, a young bourgeois from Paris, travels to Lake Geneva to rejuvenate his health. There, he falls in love with Reine, the beautiful daughter of a simple boatsman. In order to impress her solely through his personality and character, he conceals his wealthy origins and, disguising himself as a migrant laborer, takes up work on board her father's ship.