 Jean Bonard, the only son of a widow, goes to visit his mother in the small village where she lives. However, in the early hours of the morning the police arrive to arrest him and take him to court charged with the murder of a banker. The mother tries desperately to aid her son and meets up with Blanche, her son s friend. Jean maintains his innocence and Blanche comes to his aid by persuading her brother Paul, who is the real perpetrator of the crime, to clear Jean and save him from execution. He is released and goes off with Blanche. His old mother returns home, and ignorant of Jean s release the villagers treat her coldly as the mother of a criminal.