A glimpse behind the curtains of a puppet theatre is presented, showing the making of the marionettes and how they come to life in the hands of the puppeteer.
A tough customs man, out to get a youth smuggling tobacco into France across the Belgium border, falls for the jaded ex bar hostess the smuggler lives with.
Two scriptwriters argue about the fate of Henrietta, a charming and gamine shopgirl. One favors a comical path for their heroine, who is overcome with sentimental love for a young photographer on Bastille Day.
The charming Mr. Sampat weaves his way into theatrical company with his moneymaking schemes, only to cause the everyone involved to go bankrupt, including Malini, the young actress who has fallen in love with him.
Master Ghandour sets up the Iraqi woman's soul by writing a forged contract without her knowledge. He is thinking of solving this problem by marrying her, but (without knowing that it is a plan by Master Ghandour) she stipulates that she will not marry before her daughter, Malbasa, marries.