Louis de Funès stars as Louis-Philippe Fourchaume, the dictatorial CEO of a French company that designs and produces sail yachts. Desperate to land a vital contract with the Italian magnate Marcello Cacciaperotti, Fourchaume unwittingly fires his only chance of success - André Castagnier – and must embark on a torturous odyssey to the remote French countryside of 'la France profonde' to retrieve him. Though his attempt to regain the slavish service of Castagnier is initially rebuffed, Fourchaume is dragged further into boorish family life and must battle with his temper to regain the credit he has painstakingly built up.