 Rural well-digger Pascal has a pretty 18-year-old daughter Patricia who grew up in Paris; he dreams of her marrying his middle-aged partner Felipe. But she meets young Jacques Mazel from the village; one thing leads to another, and when both Jacques and Felipe go off to war, she s carrying Jacques s child. Faced with estrangement from her father, denial by Jacques  family, and the news that Jacques himself is missing in action, will Patricia agree to marry Felipe?