Haute Provence, 1945. One long night, a group of women reflect upon the strange fate of Thérèse, the oldest member of the group. Drôme, 1882. Thérèse, 22, runs away from the country with her fiancé Firmin and sets up home in Châtillon. She’s quick to notice Madame Numance, the city’s most elegant woman whose generosity knows no limit. These two powerful forces fall under each other’s spell. But Firmin intervenes and upsets the state of play… He swindles the Numances out of their last penny, and they let themselves be cheated without batting an eyelid.