Simone Chebe, the daughter of a humble clerk, is a beautiful woman. But she is also devoured by ambition. Frantz Risler falls in love with her but she rejects him in favor or Risler aîné, his elder brother, aged fifty. And no sooner do they get married than Sidonie cheats on her husband with Fromont, his business partner, who starts ruining himself for his mistress.
