Four prison inmates (Michel Constantin, Raymond Meunier, Jean Keraudy, Philippe Leroy) have been hatching a plan to literally dig out of jail when another prisoner, Claude Gaspard (Marc Michel), is moved into their cell. They take the risk of sharing their plan with the newcomer. Over the course of three days, the prisoners and friends break through the concrete floor using a bed post and begin to make their way through the sewer system — yet their escape is anything but assured.  Based on the novel by José Giovanni, Jacques Becker’s Le trou (The Hole) balances lyrical humanism with a tense, unshakable air of imminent danger.