Juliette is a young woman who has grown up on a farm that is now under economic siege. In order to save her farm and her family, Juliette is forced into a marriage of convenience with Marcel , a morose and laconic railway worker whom she does not even know. Now that her own life is permanently changed, her sacrifice does not ultimately help her family and with that sorrow added to her lonely existence, she is trapped into remaining married because of social pressures and soon enough, the birth of a child. There must surely be a way out for her at some point, but when and how that will happen seems completely up to fate alone.

Vingt ans de la vie d’une femme d’une volonté extraordinaire. Fille aînée d’un maréchal-ferrant, Juliette aime un ouvrier agricole, Pierre, mais se voit contrainte d’épouser un cheminot, Marcel, qu’elle n’aime pas, afin de subvenir aux besoins essentiels de ses parents. Marcel n’arrive pas à développer une relation sentimentale avec Juliette. Devant cet échec, il sombre dans l’alcoolisme. La relation entre Juliette et Marcel tourne rapidement au cauchemar...