The bossy mayor of a small village wants to rule his citizens with an iron hand;there is not exactly general agreement about him.His worst enemy is Gargousse the station master ,who is also occasionally a poacher and a bone-setter/healer ,much to the local doctor's disgruntlement -unfair competition-;besides the mayor's sister ,a forty-something spinster sincerely believes the quack is in love with her;and to crown it all,Gargousse's daughter-in-law falls in love with the mayor's nephew,the village schoolteacher.