Synopsis
The Napoleonic Wars are over.
Octave is young and beautiful and loves his mistress Elise - until he witnesses her being unfaithful. Despair leads to decadence. Influenced by his friend Desgenais, Octave becomes the perfect libertine, although this new life fails to satisfy his thirst for the absolute.
The death of hi s father takes Octave to the countryside where he meets Brigitte, a young widow who spends most of her days caring for the needy and the poor. He has found a new love. At first, Brigitte tries to resist, unwilling to relive the tortures of passion. Eventually she gives in.
They are in love, but Octave is quickly overcome by suspicion. Will Brigitte remain true to him? Doesn't every woman betray her lover sooner or later? Isn't Desgenais right when he claims that love doesn't exist?
In a world where no one any longer believes in anything, can Octave find in his love for Brigitte the strength to believe in the future?
