The marchioness of Botarin secretly exchanges passionate letters with Jean, a young sailor. What Jean doesn't know is that the lady of his heart is twice as old as he thinks, for the photo she has sent her was one of her young niece Jacqueline, instead of her. Things get complicated when Jean turns up at the Botarin manor, escorted by two other sailors. The young man immediately falls under the spell of Jacqueline, which drives the marchioness crazy. The latter resorts to various subterfuges to separate the lovebirds, but to no avail. She will end up marrying a gendarme who has been her suitor for years while Jean weds his beloved Jacqueline.
Jean is a good man who has a steady job (he is a mechanic in the village garage) and a companion named Aline. But Jean is also a guzzler and a philanderer. As a result, when a local prostitute is killed in the surroundings, he becomes at once the victim of rumor...
In Marseilles, the fisherman Tonin closely monitors the actions of the wreckage workers led by a certain Mr. Léon. Could these bizarre individuals have something to do with the double murder at the Grand Hotel?
