On August 16, 1870, during the final days of the Second Empire, a crowd of peasants beat and tortured a man for several hours before burning him alive. The main perpetrators were people with no criminal record.

Doctor Petypon, a respectable doctor, partied until early morning at Maxim's. His best friend discovers him asleep at noon under an overturned sofa. From the bedroom comes the Môme Crevette, a dancer from the Moulin Rouge. She is forced to pretend to be his wife. It stings at the game and causes a cascade of misunderstandings, imbroglios and drama at a frantic pace.