It all starts with the return of the presumed dead nobleman Hippolyte de Mettray (Jacques Berthier) to his wife Anne-Marie (Gaby Sylvia).
Twenty years later, Hippolyte wants his son Maxence (Richard Leduc) with Hélène (Annick Korrigan), the rich daughter of the adjacent Marquis, marry.
Clément (Marc di Napoli), son of Charles-Auguste and Elise, fighting in World War II for the Resistance against the Germans.
In the last part Clément (now: Jacques Destoop) returns with the young Carol (Jacky Gee) from Canada back to the castle Mauregard.
Claude de Givray and Bernard Revon, the authors of the saga, also were François Truffaut's co-authors in Stolen Kisses (1968) and Bed and Board (1970).