Every year, 310 killings in France go unsolved, leaving the victims' crushed families in a state of endless grief. The French judicial system is implacable: there's no money to continue investigating cases that lead nowhere. Hunting down murderers to help bereaved families get justice is more than just a job, it's a duty for Thomas Bareski, a retired, hotshot police detective. A wandering, footloose, nature-loving soul who lives out of his van, Thomas Bareski isn't just a one-of-kind man, he's also an extraordinary police officer who's ready to upend his way of life to fulfill his mission.

　　皮埃尔（哈迪·克鲁格 Hardy Krüger 饰）是一名前法国空军飞行员，在一次战斗中他的飞机坠落，他也因此失忆，约莫而立之年的他战后回到巴黎，和女友玛德琳（Nicole Courcel 饰）过着单调平淡的日常,生存,生计,日子，却被失忆和战后综合征所困扰。直到一天，他遇到了一个被爸爸,父亲大人,爹爹,老父亲送往修道院的小女孩西贝尔（Patricia Gozzi 饰），得知了西贝尔被双亲遗弃的身世，皮埃尔起始,开端,肇始,启始在每周末都冒充其爸爸,父亲大人,爹爹,老父亲去修道院接她，他们在塞纳河畔一起玩耍，他们有自己的密语，甚至有自己的仪式，西贝尔的单纯清澈仿佛给皮埃尔的苦闷日常,生存,生计,日子注入了阳光，他的心灵创伤也慢慢地被治愈。然而，这段纯真友谊却引来外人的猜疑、误解和非议，甚至是修道院的投诉和警察的介入。在一个恬淡,宁和,祥和,平和的圣诞夜，皮埃尔和西贝尔相互依偎在河畔，然而他们谁也不知道，黑夜背后等待他们的是什么……
　　本片曾获1963年奥斯卡和金球奖最佳外语片。