Jean-François Millet, a young painter of genius, is in love with Marie Leroux but in debt to a villainous picture-dealer, Bastien André. André forecloses on Millet, threatening debtor’s prison unless Marie marries him. Millet realizes that the only way he can pay his debts and save Marie and her family from André is to die, as it is only dead painters who achieve fame and fortune. With the help of his faithful and crafty trio of assistants, Millet fakes his death and prospers, all while passing himself off as his own sister, the Widow Tillou. Now a rich “widow,” the problems only continue to mount, and Millet realizes he must find a way to get out of the dress, return to life, and marry Marie!