The ladykiller friend of a busy diplomatic attaché follows a masked blonde home after an elaborate ball without knowing she is that man's wife.

Not content to be an austere judge, M. de Méricourt is also a domestic tyrant. He terrorizes his son René to such an extent that the young man has dared not confess to him that he has married. As can be guessed, a lot of confusion ensues.

Based on the popular stage play by Georges Courteline. The film is set in 1885. It focuses on a group of troops, a mix of regulars and reservists, and their different responses to the daily military routines. A crisis emerges when a General pays a visit while two deserters are still absent.

Toward the close of World War I, European railroads in Djibouti are under siege by bands of indigenous warriors, while one of the white employees falls for a mysterious woman tied to the rebels.