Alain Brissot, an executive in a major company, was made redundant following a redundancy plan, but decided to put up a fight by continuing to occupy his office against all odds... He soon went on hunger strike, and, after many ups and downs, ended up taking back the job of his former manager, who had himself been ousted following the failure of a lucrative contract with an African country.

In 1822, Toussaint Rouveyre, a former captain in Napoleon's army, returned to his village in the Ardèche after the defeat at Waterloo and a seven-year stay in America. There, he reunited with his family, persecuted by the Restoration regime. In order for his father to give him his share of the inheritance in advance of his permanent move to America, he needs the consent of his younger brother Antoine, a carpenter who is on the Compagnons' Tour de France. When Toussaint learns that his brother, a member of the Compagnons du Devoir (Devoirants) association, has been killed by a companion from the rival association, the Compagnons du Devoir de Liberté (Gavots), he is determined to find the murderer, a certain Tourangeau Sans-Quartier, and avenge his brother. To find this man, he joins the Compagnons du Devoir de Liberté incognito.

In this imaginary investigation, the scientist, who was very secretive, is presented in a new light. Actors play people who knew Einstein and retrace his journey. The portrait is followed by a debate on a point of controversy, the involvement of Albert Einstein in the nuclear war.