[1] A small village in the Jura is split by the river Loue, which in that area constitutes the line of demarcation between occupied France and the free zone.

An aristocratic French officer, Pierre (Ronet), is released by Nazi soldiers to find his chateau converted into a German command centre, and having to live in the hunting lodge.

Meanwhile, a crooked smuggler is operating in the town, asking huge sums from a Jewish family to get them across the river but in fact leads them to the Nazis and steals all their possessions.

Meanwhile the Resistance gets the village Priest to cooperate in a plot to smuggle the wounded spy to the other side of the river inside the coffin of a recently deceased 97-year old woman.

When they get to the verse about "The tyranny has raised against us its blood-soaked banner" the camera zooms to the Nazi Swastika flag flying over occupied France.