The dark drama of a peasant family from the second half of the 19th century: Seduced by a municipal clerk (in exchange for a promise to release her husband from military service), the woman dies at the hands of her jealous husband.
Gendarme Hoppe is packing to leave for a long-awaited vacation in Germany. Before he can leave the post, however, a Jewish boy shows up. Hoppe must make a decision about the child's life.
