François (Jean-Claude Brialy), a successful yet sickly young man, returns to his home town Sardent after a long absence. He finds his friend Serge (Gérard Blain) who has become a wretched alcoholic, unsatisfied with his life in the village. Serge had hoped to leave the village to study, but had to stay to marry Yvonne after she was pregnant. The death of their stillborn child did not help. (Serge has become an angry, bitter figure not unlike the roles of James Dean, refusing to face reality and adulthood.) At the time of arrival of François, Yvonne is again pregnant. François finds himself on the one hand at odds with the provincial village life and on the other hand compelled to help Serge. The fact that they are both entangled in affairs with Marie (Bernadette Lafont) makes things more complicated. At the end, the birth of Serge and Yvonne's second child seems to provide a slight possibility of success.