A dramatization of Émile Zola's greatest novel. Hired in the Montsou mines, Étienne Lantier meets the Maheu family and falls in love with their daughter Catherine. She is courted by Chaval, a brutal worker. When the Compagnie des Mines lowered wages, Étienne, already outraged by this misery, rose up. Dreaming of justice, he pushes for a strike. Weeks go by, the starving strikers struggle, but, victims of violent repression, resign themselves to returning to work

Anne has been blind since birth, François' been blind from the age of seven. This couple is happy. But their daily routine changes the day François is given an artificial cornea transplant and regains his sight.