Free Men

1942 in German-occupied Paris. Algerian national Younes Ben Daoud, a non-practicing Muslim, was among the many north Africans who emigrated to France prior to the war, he who decided to stay despite the German occupation so that he could earn more money than he could have earned in Algeria to send home. Although he lost the factory job his cousin Ali got for him due to an extended illness with tuberculosis, he now sells rationed items on the black market primarily to his fellow north Africans. He is picked up by the immigration police, who threaten to arrest him for his black market activities unless he reports back to them the activities at the local mosque, especially about those who are not regular attendees, which he feels obliged to do. Younes can see that the head of the mosque, Si Kaddour Ben Ghabrit, is well connected, regularly having informal engagements with both French government officials and German officers. Younes primarily tells the police about Salim Halili, an Algerian national like himself who is renowned as a singer of north African music. Younes and Salim eventually become friends. But as Younes spends more time at the mosque and sees what is happening around him, both at the mosque and with Ali, Younes begins to be torn in opposite directions, either to continue his undercover work for the police or instead working for the French resistance, most specifically in bettering the welfare of his fellow north Africans which could place his own welfare at risk if discovered. Secrets Younes learns about Salim and his attraction to a young woman at the mosque named Leila may help him make up his mind about what to do.