[2] Set in France during the first half of the 20th century, the film concerns a poor and illiterate man named Henri Fortin (Jean-Paul Belmondo) who is introduced to Victor Hugo's classic 1862 novel Les Misérables and begins to see parallels to his own life.

The film next takes up the story of Elisa, a ballerina, and André Ziman, a young Jewish journalist and law student.

Later, during World War II, André and Elisa, now married, and their daughter Salomé attempt to cross the Swiss border to escape the Nazis.

After staging an attack on a train transporting funds for the Vichy government, Henri and his mates travel to Normandy to visit the tavern where he lived as a child.

A former Vichy police agent accuses Henri of abetting the gang's activities during the war and of robbing and burning a train.

André escapes from his cellar prison on a bad leg and emerges to find the farmer couple dead and a liberated Europe.

[5] The Los Angeles Times called it "a spectacular-looking film" that "eventually becomes needlessly drawn-out", and added: "the cast is staunch...but Belmondo...easily walks away with the picture.

[7] Janet Maslin, who reviewed the film for The New York Times, meanwhile complained about "odd variations on Hugo's themes.