Years after his family thought he died, Martin Guerre (Gérard Depardieu) returns home from the Hundred Years' War. But is he really Martin Guerre? His wife, Bertrande de Rols (Nathalie Baye), has her doubts, as do some of her fellow villagers. Guerre's personality has completely changed; a man who was once angry and sullen is now likable and kind. As they become convinced they have an impostor on their hands, a local magistrate charges the man with Martin Guerre's murder.