Every 25 years Rome is flooded with pilgrims celebrating L`Annie Sainte, the holy year. Max (Jean Gabin), a gangster from the old school, and his cellmate escape from a Paris jail to take advantage of the crowds in Rome to recuperate Max`s hidden money, buried outside a chapel near the Vatican. The two men, disguised as an Abbey and his secretary, board a flight for Italy only to find their plans disrupted by a group of hitchhikers.