It is the tragicomic story of the life and death of an English expatriate in Normandy, drawing many parallels to Gustave Flaubert's 1857 novel Madame Bovary.

The story opens with Raymond Joubert, a baker in the (fictional) Bailleville, near Rouen in Normandy, reflecting on the recent death of Gemma Bovery, an English woman who lived in the village.

Gemma's initial delight at her simple new life soon gives way to ennui: their crumbling cottage is smelly and uncomfortable, and Charlie (who settles in Normandy far better) maddens her with his laid-back attitude to everything.

The sensual Gemma has made a considerable impact in Bailleville: The pompous baker Joubert is soon obsessed with her and while following her one night discovers she is having an affair with Hervé de Bressigny, the son of a local landed family.

In the epilogue, Joubert observes as a new couple moves into the Boverys' house: an older man and his wife, named Jane Eyre.

In 2014 the comic book was adapted into a feature live-action film: Gemma Bovery, directed by Anne Fontaine.