Baseado no romance homônimo de Émile Zola, o filme aborda os movimentos grevistas de um grupo de mineiros no norte da França do século XIX contra a exploração de que são vítimas. Entretanto, ao se levantarem contra o sistema, passam ser alvos da repressão das autoridades.
Hippolyte, the titular oddball, is a far from typical country lawyer. He has been happily married to the woman of his dreams for 15 years, but has an incurable penchant for practical (or rather impractical) jokes.
Joëlle, a simple and energetic young woman, works as a hairdresser for Mrs. Delbarre. When Professor Thibaud, a great bone specialist, asks her to donate her bone marrow for a transplant, on the condition that she does not seek to know the recipient, she accepts without hesitation. But the temptation is too strong and she investigates in order to discover the person who benefited from her generous gesture. It is a handsome young man with whom she immediately falls in love.
