Several years after leaving the orphanage where her father abandoned her, a young Gabrielle Chanel finds herself working in a provincial bar. She is both a seamstress for the performers and a singer, earning the nickname 'Coco' from the song she sings nightly with her sister. A liaison with the charismatic Baron Balsan gives her an entry into French high society, and a chance to develop her gift for designing increasingly popular hats.