The life of Jacques, apprentice laborer, from joy over France's first paid vacations in 1936 to the oppressive atmosphere under Nazi occupation.

1936: a fresh breeze brings hope to the working class world with the Popular Front's victory in the last elections.
An apprentice in the Bordeaux shipyards, Jacques enjoys his teen years to the hilt, savoring life in the carefree days as paid vacations become law.
But soon the draft begins, and then the world is at war. Exempt from service, Jacques takes no part.
Humiliating defeat in 1940 brings German troops to Bordeaux. The Occupation begins with its curfews, rationing, dilemmas, and vanished friends. But should life stop being lived as fully as possible?