Mathieu Delarue, a philosophy teacher, has so far managed to contain sex and personal freedom in separate compartments. But now he is in trouble, trying to raise 4,000 francs to procure a safe abortion for his mistress, Marcelle. Beyond all this, filtering an uneasy light on his predicament, rises t...

Mathieu Delarue, a philosophy teacher, has so far managed to contain sex and personal freedom in separate compartments. But now he is in trouble, trying to raise 4,000 francs to procure a safe abortion for his mistress, Marcelle. Beyond all this, filtering an uneasy light on his predicament, rises the threat of the coming of the Second World War.