Biarritz, 1933. Charm and talent help small-time swindler Serge Alexandre, alias Stavisky, to bribe his way into the centre of French political power. But when his great scam involving millions gets exposed, he brings the government to the verge of collapse and the country to the brink of civil war.
A gang uses Marina, a naive striptease artist, on a tour of Asia, to make a microfilm out of the country. As soon as the girl arrives at Orly airport, she is followed by smugglers.
Two tourists in Provence meet an old naive peasant painter who tells them the extraordinary story that happened in the village in 1890: Amédée, the teacher, succeeded in stealing.