Jean Valjean escapes from jail for one night and ties up a few loose ends, burying a sum of money which he has earned knowing that if he leaves it the police will confiscate it. By dawn, Jean Valjean has been caught and sent to the galley. Two years go by before Jean Valjean has an opportunity to escape. A man is trapped on the sail of a ship and no one can reach him to help him down. Jean Valjean volunteers to climb up and lower him down. Once the man is safe Jean Valjean falls to the water and everyone thinks that he has drowned.
Jean Valjean goes to get Cossette and finds out how terrible the innkeepers have been treating her. Making her their servant, spoiling their own two girls while she gets the dregs. Once she has been rescued from her life of servitude, Cossette become Jean Valjeans daughter. They scale the wall at Paris and land right in a Catholic girls school. Jean Valjean happens to know the gardener because he saved his life and so pretends to be the gardener's brother and enrolls Cossette in school there. When Cossette is 14 they leave because the gardener dies. They get a small house.
Here we meet Marius, a young man who's mother came from a wealthy family but who had never met his father. Until his father died Marius hated him for leaving and never coming to see him. After his fathers death Marius finds out that it was his grandfather who was responsible for his father leaving and that his father came to watch him every sunday at mass for 12 years. It seems that, once his daughter had died, the wealthy grandfather threatened to disinherit the boy if his father stuck around. Knowing he could never give his son the kind of advantages that his father in law's wealth would offer, Marius' father backed down. After learning this Marius leaves his grandfather and his fortune and decides to try life on his own. He ends up going to the same park that Cossette and Jean Valjean frequent.
Jean Valjean is known to others who see him as Monsieur LeBlanc or Mr. White because his hair has all turned white. This is the name to which Jean Valjean is referred by Marius who does not notice Cossette at first because she is just a girl dressed in black (in mourning for the kind gardener who helped them so much). However as time goes by Cossette matures into a young woman and Marius, who still frequents the same park as she does, begins to notice her and she also begins to notice him. They flirt every day. Marius' life begins to get more complicated as he gets involved with a group who intend to stage a rebellion against the crown. Cossette and Marius meet one night in her garden and continue seeing each other every night. When Jean Valjean learns of this he decides to move because he's afraid of losing Cossette to Marius. Cossette writes Marius a note and gives it to a girl to deliver but the girl, who happens to be the older daughter of the innkeeper Cossette stayed with during her early years, likes Marius too and decides not to deliver the letter.
Marius is distressed that Cossette left without even a word of goodbye so he joins his friends in the rebellion sure that he will be killed. The girl who kept the letter is at the barracade of the rebellion and steps in front of a bullet to save Marius' life. It is only after this heroic deed that she gives Marius the letter. After reading the letter Marius sends Cossette a goodbye letter, sure that he will die in the rebellion, by a young street urchin. Jean Valjean reads the letter and instead of giving it to Cossette, decides that he will save Marius by joining the rebellion and making sure he gets out alive. As a coincidence, inspector Javert has been sent into the rebellion as a spy. Once there, Jean Valjean is careful not to kill anyone even though he is forced to shoot to keep up the appearance of a rebel. Javert is found out to be a spy and order shot by the rebellions leader. Jean Valjean sees this and asks if he could be the one to do it. Once they are both out of sight, Jean Valjean shoots his gun into the air and unties Javert ordering him to "get out of here as fast as you can." Javert retreats after assuring Jean Valjean that he will still arrest him.
Marius gets wounded and while he is unconcious Jean Valjean has the opportunity to escape through the sewers carrying Marius all the way. Traveling through the sewers is tough and parts of it are so deep he has to hold Marius up high to keep him out of the water. Finally he comes to the end where he meets a man who will not let him get out at first. This man, who happens to be the innkeeper does not recognize Jean Valjean but thinks that Marius is dead and that Jean Valjean must have murdered him. He takes a piece of Marius' jacket as proof so that if he ever comes accross this man again he may blackmail him with what he's done. The innkeeper then lets Jean Valjean and Marius by and they emerge next to the river. Javert is waiting for them and all Jean Valjean asks is he be allowed to take Marius somewhere safe where he can recover. Javert allows this after obtaining Jean Valjeans address from him then Javert struggles with what to do. He cannot explain the fact that Jean Valjean had a perfect opportunity to kill him but saved his life, or the fact that he also saved the life of this young man. Javert cannot deal with the moral struggle and decides to kill himself.
