Armand seduces one woman after the other. However, he is supposed to consolidate his family's finances by marrying Amelie, a bankers daughter.

In 1911, Arnolphe Combalette left his corner of Provence to seek his fortune in the Americas. Fifty years later, a letter from him arrived in the village: "No, I'm not dead yet, but it won't be long now. A Combalette should be sent here to settle a question of big money". The family took counsel and delegated their youngest son, Dieudonné, a cook by trade. Dieudonné arrived safely in New York, but soon found himself short of money. Somehow, he managed to reach that prodigious corner of Texas where, he thought, his uncle's many factories would be built. Neither the factories nor his uncle, who died in poverty a week ago, welcome him there. Dîeudonné can't imagine returning to his native village to announce this new family disgrace; for one thing, he hasn't got a penny in his pocket. The owner of a modest saloon hires him as a cook.