Jacques Villa

Beautiful violin virtuoso Camille has two obsessions: the music of Ravel, and a friend of her husband's who crafts violins. But his heart seems to be as cold as her playing is passionate.

The Marcenat couple seem to have everything they need to be happy. However, Odile's frivolity and Philippe's jealousy drive the couple apart. Philippe, manager of the family printing business, finds solace in Isabelle, a long-time employee at the paper mill. Isabelle's routine life, entirely devoted to her work, leads Philippe to strike up a romantic relationship with the playful young Misa. But, faced with Isabelle's grief, Philippe puts an end to the romance. When Odile, inconsolable since their break-up, finally commits suicide, Philippe realizes that she was his true love.

Under the presidency of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, a peasant family commits suicide, five people torture a young girl, and children die for lack of hospitals.

Diane de Vaudrey gives birth to an illegitimate, blind daughter named Louise, who is stolen and abandoned on church steps by Diane's stepfather. Raised by a poor family alongside her adoptive sister, Henriette, Louise is later orphaned. After a tragic accident separates them, Louise is captured by the cruel Mother Frochard and forced to beg. Henriette eventually rescues Louise from Frochard's hovel. Thanks to a recovered childhood locket, Diane reunites with her long-lost daughter, while Henriette marries the noble knight Roger de Vaudrey.