Nantas is a destitute young man but who is also eager for money and power. He goes to Paris where he hopes to make it but after a while, realizing that his efforts have failed, he decides to kill himself. But the very moment he is about to pull the trigger, someone knocks on his door. A baron offers him to serve as the father of his daughter Flavie, who is expecting a child out of wedlock. He accepts and begins climbing in society. He has a problem though, he has fallen in love with Flavie, his "wife", but she despises him and refuses to return his tender feelings.