Marcel Carné in a poetic vein ("clef des songes" refers to the astrological interpretation of dreams). A young man, Michel (Gérard Philipe), is sleeping in his prison cell when the heavy gates swing open to reveal an open countryside, blue sky and freedom. Michel arrives at the top of a hill, where he finds a completely white village of which all the inhabitants have lost their memory - all, that is, except the accordian player, who can remember the past only when he is playing his instrument. And so the story continues....