When poverty drives Jean Valjean to steal a loaf of bread from a baker's window, it is an action which will haunt him for the rest of his life. A citizen of post-revolutionary France, he is suffers nineteen years hard labor. On his release, his fortunes change after an encounter with a saintly bishop. He becomes a respectable businessman and member of society - and yet his past continues to dog him in the form of the sadistic Inspector Javert, who seems determined to pursue Valjean to the grave.
