In 1935, the tribulations of the villagers of Val Jacob, desperate to defend the surrounding nature by avoiding the rising waters of the dam which provides them with electricity. At the center of this exuberant agora, there is Rachelle, the young and beautiful postwoman, who only has eyes for Fernand Gauthier, the French engineer in charge of the dam. There is also the mayor's wife who gets cheated in front of everyone and Cora, the prostitute who tries to keep her Tonio ...