Back in the inaugural play of Louis Malle, Lucien Lacombe is still a young man living in rural France during World War II who seeks to unite the French Resistance. After he is refused as a result of his youth, the resentful Lucien allies himself with the Nazis and joins the Gallic arm in their Gestapo. Lucien climbs to enjoy the energy that comes with his stance, but his life is more complicated when he falls to France Horn.