Francois Truffaut's second feature is a tender, playful but ultimately tragic story of a man who has never recovered from a past betrayal.
Charlie, once a renowned concert pianist, now plays background music in a run-down bar. A sympathetic waitress there loves him, but Charlie can neither forgive nor forget his former wife's infidelity. His simple life takes a turn for the violent, however, when his brother comes into the bar one day with two gangsters in tow -- gangsters bent on getting even with Charlie for a past offense.