Daniel Lefebvre works as the principal of an infant school in the poverty stricken small French town. His attempts to serve his pupils are thwarted by the incompetence and laziness of the local authorities. He becomes involved with the struggle of a local family to escape from the squalor and depression of the area. However, all his efforts seem in vain, and his wife Valéria grows resentful of his reluctance to have another child.