Gaston has been living in a psychiatric hospital for the past 15 years, having suffered amnesia during the First World War. Without an identity, he has not been able to collect his disability pension, which is worth a small fortune. The lure of money will push several families to claim that he is one of theirs, missing in action... Is it possible to choose your family? Your past? Could you wipe out the embarrassing events of your past life and start fresh?

Inspired by the real story of an amnesiac soldier, Anthelme Mangin, who was claimed by over a dozen families, Jean Anouilh has written a powerful play on the themes of memory, the past, bourgeois society, nostalgia for purity and childhood.