Released on parole from prison, where he was sent for stealing bread for his starving relatives Jean Valjean attempts to rob a saintly bishop who has befriended him but when the bishop declines to turn him in and gifts him his silverware Jean swears to do only good, selling the silverware to finance a factory in a small town of which he has become mayor.
When one of the factory workers, the down-trodden Fantine, dies Jean adopts her daughter Cosette, taking her to Paris as his own child. Here she meets and falls in love with Marius, a young student, part of the June rebellion of 1832. But Marius's political stance puts him in danger and Jean is being relentlessly pursued by policeman Javert, who recognizes him and wants to bring him down.