Yesterday night, Lazare Chantoiseau painted the town red. This morning he wakes up with a very unsettling idea in mind: he is sure to have stolen and raped a strange woman in the Luxembourg Gardens, so he decides to give himself up. On that occasion he gets to know his victim, Hortense, as well as her husband, an astronomer. Lazare realizes he is innocent, which does not prevent from becoming... Hortense's lover!