Fernand Sarrasin, nicknamed Noël, is a nougat manufacturer in his fifties who lives an uneventful life in Montélimar. One day he saves a young girl called Cécilia from drowning and falls in love with her. He persuades her to marry him despite their difference in age. Unfortunately Julie, Noël's jealous and spiteful sister-in-law, does her utmost to separate him from Cécilia. She even goes as far as to throw Noël's young wife into the arms of a playboy pianist, Jean Balestra. Both leave for Paris and Noël is heart-broken...