The constant smile of the eternally amiable Jacques Perdrot often complicates his life. Appointed chief of police at Castel-Boudin, he takes up his new post accompanied by his maid and his godmother, who watches over his virtue, and by the Widow Gibard, who is determined to marry him. At Castel-Boudin, his smile has great effect, provoking distaste and misunderstandings.