Vidocq is looking for Herbaux and Grouard, the two men who once sentenced him to the penal colony. He tells Annette the story: as a soldier, he was in love with a woman named Francine, who cheated on him. Sentenced to three months in prison for beating up one of his lovers, Herbaux and Grouard borrowed his cell to do some writing. Their forgery discovered, they accused Vidocq, who was convicted. But Vidocq was unaware of Grouard's dealings with the police and Herbaux's latest conviction...