Jérôme Crainquebille, is an ageing modest vegetable seller who has sold groceries from his cart in Les Halles market in Paris for over 40 years.

Following a farcical trial, the old man is sent to jail, where due to the poor quality of his past life he enjoys the benefits of the free shelter and food.

On his release, however, his life continues to nose-dive: all of his past regular customers shun him, and, with no income, he turns to the bottle becoming an alcoholic.

He is reduced to a tramp that everybody loathes, and the sad old man is about to commit suicide when a young street boy called "Mouse" takes him by the hand to forget about the past and persuades him to make a fresh start.

In 2005, a restored 35mm print was produced by Lobster Films in Paris in association with Lenny Borger,[1] and was released on DVD by Home Vision Entertainment in 2006.