 In the winter of 1797-98, the troops of Napoleon and their revolutionary allies in the Pays de Vaud occupy the latter and begin preparations for a military offensive which will hasten the fall of Berne. On the far side of the snow-blocked passes of their protective mountains, those who reject the ideas of the Enlightenment begins to organise resistance. Caught between these warring ideas two young lovers, David and Julie, are swept away in the whirlwind stirred up by conflict between parents, passionate disharmony, betrayed friendships, the weight of civil and religious customs.