In 1940s Paris, during the German occupation, two men in the film industry find different ways to deal with the Vichy regime stifling their creativity. Jean Devaivre (Jacques Gamblin) is an assistant director, and Jean Aurenche (Denis Podalydès) is a screenwriter. Devaivre actively rebels against the occupation: He is an employee of Continental, a Nazi film company, but secretly fights in the resistance. Aurenche, on the other hand, refuses to create propaganda by working for the company.