César runs a bar along Marseilles' port, assisted by his 23-year-old son, Marius. Colorful characters abound–M. Panisse, an aging widower and prosperous sail maker; Honorine, a fishmonger with a sidewalk…

Rural well-digger Pascal has a pretty 18-year-old daughter Patricia who grew up in Paris; he dreams of her marrying his middle-aged partner Felipe. But she meets young Jacques Mazel from…