Paris in 1942. With the Occupation people needed diversions and the theaters and cinemas had never done better business. But as Jews were banned from working in filmmaking, more and more compromises had to be made by those still working. A documentary crew agree to change their film on a real flying hero into a fictional film, with a mediocre stage actor chosen by the Vichy producer as the lead. As plot changes are demanded and made, some refuse to work on the film. Then, with a week of shooting to go, their lead actor is arrested by the Nazis.