Set in Quebec before WWII, a French-Canadian soldier nicknamed Tit-Coq (literally meaning "Little Rooster") is depressed over his illegitimate birth. A romance with the lovely young Marie-Ange changes everything for him until he's called upon to fight in the war. Marie-Ange promises to wait for him until the war is over but there will be the pressure from her family to marry and the continuous advances of an old boyfriend.