Shortly before his execution, felon Lenoir confesses to Inspector Maigret that he witnessed a murder years ago and blackmailed the perpetrator. The only clue Maigret receives from Lenoir is the tavern 'Deux Sous', which lies on the banks of the Seine. In the restaurant, the inspector meets a hilarious crowd, including the likeable drunkard James, the bad-tempered merchant Feinstein and his attractive wife Mado, who has an affair with the coal merchant Basso. In the midst of the merry hustle and bustle, a shot is fired - Feinstein is mortally wounded, Basso flees. Is this crime connected with the murder Lenoir told him about? Based on the 11th Maigret novel La Guinguette à deux sous (1932), published in German under the titles Maigret und die Groschenschenke and Maigret und die kleine Landkneipe.