In 1934, in a little village on a canal in Burgundy (Cheuge), a laconic young stranger called Jean is walking along the road when an older woman in black gets off a bus with a heavy load.

Across the canal live her sister-in-law and ineffectual husband, who are trying to evict the widow and gain the property.

His father was rich, he says, and he wanted to become a doctor but killed a man, ending up in jail from which he has escaped.

The widow accepts his story, but her trust is strained when he can't resist sleeping with the alluring Félicie as well.

The situation is taken out of her hands when her sister-in-law denounces Jean to the police, who surround the farm at dawn.