An unkind, arrogant young man is cursed by a sorceress to spend his days as a feline and his nights as a man.  Decades pass, he doesn’t age or remember where he came from or even his given name as he wanders the countryside.

Old Monsieur Le Fevre lies on his deathbed. His two older, greedy sons, Daubert and Jourdain, await the end and plot to rid themselves of their naïve, younger brother, Etienne -- their father’s favorite.

Although Etienne has spent his life with his head in the clouds or a book, he knows he’s in danger from his siblings and runs when his father passes.  Etienne finds a cat he names Jacques and then a ramshackle hut his father once mentioned.  That night, as he freezes to death in the hut, a man called Jacques walks into the room and Etienne’s life is changed forever.