The frame story involves the mayor of an isolated French village who, to further his political ambitions, secures a grant to build a sporting and cultural centre, but the necessary felling of a fine willow outrages the schoolteacher and his daughter.

In Saint-Juire-Champgillon, a remote village of traditional left-wing adherence in the Vendée, Julien Dechaumes has inherited the manor house and grounds and has been elected mayor, though he spends much of his time in Paris with his mistress.

When a journalist on a left-wing magazine visits the village to talk to people, her editor cuts her piece to focus on the teacher and the tree.

The teacher's ten-year-old daughter explains to the mayor that all the children want is not the sophisticated facilities on offer but just green space and trees.

A survey reveals that the water table has dropped alarmingly, needing costly groundworks that make the whole project unviable.