Book is in French Champs-de-Grâce, 1919. Priest Gauthier seeks to keep his flock on the straight and narrow. Unfortunately for him, love of neighbor, hard work, Sunday mass and evening rosaries do not necessarily guarantee an existence free of missteps and mortal sins. The eldest in the family, Constance left school to help her mother with household chores. She also watches over her sister Béatrice, a child with a sensitive heart and an unpredictable character. In the neighboring hamlet, Madeleine works her grandparents' land while secretly hoping that the attractive Edgar will finally notice her. But the man of her dreams rather covets Constance, whose reserve and gentleness have charmed him. However, at the moment when he plans to court her, he attends a party where he meets a sassy Madeleine, whose drunkenness makes her intriguing and daring... From then on, within the peaceful little parish, the destiny of the three young people faithful takes an unexpected turn that even the priest will be hard-pressed to straighten out.