Young, handsome, dashing but cynical, Octave Mouret arrives in Paris, determined to conquer the belles of the capital. His first attempts are not too successful though as he is rebuffed by Valérie Vabre, the neurotic wife of the landlord of the block of flats he is accommodated in. As for the affair he starts with Caroline Hédouin, the married owner of "Au Bonheur des...