Rakish poet and criminal ne'er-do-well Francois Villon (Oreste Kirkop) lives it up in 15th century France as he drinks, sings, fights, and commands the respect and devotion of his fellow French rabble. He also finds time to anonymously woo the beautiful high-born brunette Catherine de Vaucelles (Kathryn Grayson). The lovely Catherine also has caught the eye of King Louis XI (Walter Hampden) who is annoyed at the anonymous rival, but he has much bigger problems as The Duke of Burgundy has raised a mighty army which marches for Paris! A series of events sees Villon put in charge of the the defense of the city, while also being sentenced to hang, and in the middle of all this he also must work out a complicated situation involving his true love Catherine and a bar-room harlot (Rita Moreno) he had previously promised himself to.