A city: we know it's Paris by its monuments, but it could be anywhere; the lives of the poor are the same. We see a streetwalker, a woman who sells newspapers, a sailor, a landlady, an old woman, a shop keeper, and another man. The camera shows us derelicts and the unemployed. As the clock moves, people arrive for work, shops and restaurants open, butchers carry animal carcasses. After work, it's time for pleasure and relaxation, but after midnight, danger waits. So does possibility.