Antoine Sforza, a thirty-year-old young man, left his village ten years before in order to start a new life in the big city, but now that his father, a traveling grocer, is in hospital after a stroke, he more or less reluctantly accepts to come back to replace him in his daily rounds. Back in the village, accompanied by Claire, a young woman he loves but who hesitates to commit herself, he does the job half-satisfactorily. Too blunt, not in harmony with the locals, he offends them more than he serves them. Fortunately Claire, who has more business acumen, helps him to improve his skills. On the other hand, the relationships are tense with his brother François and even worse with his father, who despises him. So when the latter is back in the village, the situation deteriorates...