A handyman in a 1940s Paris brothel tries to help the prostitute he loves with her singing career and romantic life.

Having stayed on as a wartime handyman in Le Palais Oriental after being born there, Petit Louis has become immune to the charms of the working girls. Then Marion arrives and he is completely smitten. Feeling he is not the sort of romantic figure she deserves, he encourages a relationship between her and shadowy Dimitri Josco while also fostering her singing talent. As the war ends and the authorities close down all bordellos a strange triangular relationship develops, complicated by Dimitri's black market past.—J-26