Juliette marry's Jean the barge captain (working for a barge company) and goes to live aboard together with the cabin boy and the mate Pere Jules and a load of cats.

Bored with life on the canal she longs to visit Paris but when they do circumstances, and Pere Jules, conspire to prevent Jean from taking her out to see the sights. She takes a chance to go out on her own to see the nightlife, but Jean angrily finds out and angrily takes the barge back down river.

At Le Harvre regretting that he has lost her Jean falls into a depression. Eventually Pere Jules goes off to find Juliette (who seems to have acquired a job and a room in the meantime) and brings her back. Jean and Juliette are reconciled and life on the barge goes on.