Denise Baudu, an orphaned girl in need, decides to go to Paris where her uncle Baudu keeps a small draper's shop, "Le Vieil Elbeuf". The young woman hopes her kinsman will be able to give her a position. Unfortunately Octave Mouret, Baudu's visionary competitor, has just opened a giant department store nearby, "Au Bonheur des dames", which now attracts customers like a magnet. Denise, realizing that "Le Vieil Elbeuf" is dying away, crosses the street to offer her services to Octave Mouret...