[1] The family patriarch Van Paemel is a farmer on baron de Wilde's estate.

His mild-mannered son Désire is accidentally shot during a hunting party on the estate and remains an invalid.

Eduard, the eldest son, is a member of the socialist workers' movement and involved in strike actions in the city.

Against her father's wishes, his daughter Cordule starts an affair with the poacher Masco.

His youngest daughter, Romanie, is forced to work as a domestic servant at the castle, where she is seduced by Maurice, the baron's son and heir, and becomes pregnant.