The recently deceased of an anonymous French town suddenly return to life, calmly streaming forth from a cemetery in a silent procession. The town council, led by the mayor (Victor Garrivier), makes plans to house the returned and help reintroduce them to society. The mayor informs the council that the event has lasted for roughly two hours throughout France, returning an estimated 70 million people to life nationwide, with more than 13,000 in their town alone, all of whom had died within the previous 10 years.