In 1944, in a small village in Calvados, just as the Allies landed, a British plane was shot down. The wounded pilot seeks help. All the villagers, who speak only of resistance, refuse to help, for fear of reprisals. Only the mayor, Dr. Leproux, takes him in and nurses him back to health, then entrusts him to the Resistance. But the Germans get wind of the story and arrest Leproux. He is saved by Major Frantz. But the budding friendship between these two men "doesn't stop the drums", and the war is on.
A horrific and, on the face of it, incomprehensible murder has just been committed on the unsympathetic person of a loan shark. The victim's body is found lifeless, but the circumstances of his death are far from clear. For want of anything better to go on, the police immediately suspect a penniless gentleman who had the bad idea and misfortune to be present at the time of the crime. The police don't take the time to look for other possible suspects, and are not at the end of their surprises. A dark story seems to lie behind this imbroglio of incoherent facts.
Barbara Van Looren is the lively, clever daughter of the well-known shipowner. For her, life is a breeze, even when she's kidnapped by Mike Cortez's men. A young journalist, Mercier, who tried to defend her and was forced to follow her, doesn't share her optimism and manages to escape. Barbara is sequestered because her father has caught wind of a diamond deal. If he renounces the customs action, his daughter will be returned to him. Mercier, with the help of a couple of loyal friends, discovers the instigator of the traffic, a member of the board of directors, and finds Barbara, still as petulant as ever.