Years after his family thought he died, Martin Guerre (Gérard Depardieu) returns home from the Hundred Years' War. But is he really Martin Guerre? His wife, Bertrande de Rols (Nathalie Baye), has her doubts, as do some of her fellow villagers. As they become convinced they have an impostor on their hands, a local magistrate charges the man with Martin Guerre's murder.
