Jean Valjean, who has spent 19 years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread, tries to turn his life around by taking on a new identity and becoming a respected member of society. He promises Fantine, a factory worker who is dying, that he will care for her daughter Cosette, who is being mistreated by the Thénardier family. Valjean raises Cosette as his own child, but Inspector Javert keeps chasing him, determined to prove Valjean is still a criminal.