The inhabitants of Sainte-Marie-La-Mauderne, once proud fishermen, survive on government subsidies, mired in melancholy and despair, until one day a company announces its intention to set up shop there on the sole condition that there be a doctor in town. The mayor has moved to the city, and when Germain, who has inherited his duties, learns that a young doctor is going to spend some time in Sainte-Marie, he throws all his energy into making his village the best place in the world to live.