Those who fight are not sure of winning. But those who don't fight have already lost. The story of Etienne Lantier, enlisted in the Montsou mines. He meets the Maheu family and falls in love with their daughter Catherine. She is courted by Chaval, a brutal worker. When the Compagnie des Mines cuts wages, Etienne, already revolted by the misery, takes up the cause. Dreaming of justice, he calls a strike. As the weeks went by, the starving strikers fought back, but, victims of violent repression, resigned themselves to working.