During his acceptance speech for a lifetime achievement award, Nicolas Chauvin - farmer-soldier, veteran of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and father of chauvinism - embarks on a grand monologue, sending him back in time and space.

An abandoned seaside resort. The shooting for a fantasy film about the end of an era wraps up. Two women, both members of the film crew, one an actress, the other a director, Apocalypse and Joy, are on the verge of concluding their love affair.