Based on the posthumously-published 1876 short story "Point de Lendemain" ("No Tomorrow") by Dominique Vivant (1747–1825), the film concerns a woman involved in adultery who rediscovers human love.

Jeanne Tournier (Moreau) lives with her husband Henri (Alain Cuny) and young daughter, Catherine, in a mansion near Dijon.

Her emotionally remote husband is a busy newspaper owner who has little time for his wife, except when he chooses to place demands upon her; often they sleep in separate rooms.

Jeanne's constant talk of her two friends leads to Henri demanding that she invite them to dinner and to stay as overnight guests.

A showing of the film in Cleveland Heights, Ohio's Coventry Village resulted in a criminal conviction of the theatre manager for public depiction of obscene material.