Fausto enters an orphanage and is initially bullied, but then makes friends with a new bunkmate, Raymond. He is apprenticed to Mietek, a tailor in the Jewish quarter, who teaches him the trade. Fausto charms everyone in the quarter, and falls in love with Tonie, the mechanic's daughter. He starts making outrageous suits for publicity and, after dressing Tonie, decides that he wants to be a famous couturier