France under Louis XIII. 1615. The Duke of Angoulême is at the head of a group of gentlemen who are conspiring to drive the Florentines out of court, of whom Concini is the all-powerful leader. A cadet from Gascony, Adhémar de Capestang, who was later to become the Capitan, left his native province to come and try his luck in Paris. Along the way, he saves a young girl, Gisèle d'Angoulême, from a masked individual who wanted to kidnap her.

During the Directory, a handful of royalists tried to get the Dauphin Louis XVII to escape from the Temple.

A famous convict Jacques Collin, alias Trompe la mort, or abbot Carlos Herrera, also called Vautrin, escapes from prison. Chance makes him meet Lucien de Rubempré, an impetuous and eternal lover who, when he is dismissed, collapses. Moved by this fragility, he takes him under his wing, and will do everything possible to ensure that his creature reaches happiness, even if it means imagining the worst shenanigans and other scams, with the help of a band of clever villains.

A renowned sculptor aged about fifty years, François Bressolles falls for the young Catherine Collet whom he convinces without difficulty to pose for him. Complications ensue when he starts to go blind.

The voyages of Pierre Savorgnan de Brassa through Africa. This great explorer, the founder of Brazzaville (Congo), was born in Italy but chose France as his motherland.