Spots 
Seventeen-year-old Jeanne Le Perthuis des Vauds leaves her Rouen convent to reside at Les Peuples, her family's coastal estate in Normandy. Baron Simon-Jacques and his wife accord her complete independence, allowing her to wander the beaches and fields. Unburdened by worldly experience, Jeanne fills her solitary days with idealized visions of romance, marriage, and emotional fulfillment.
Abbé Picot introduces Viscount Julien de Lamare to the family at Les Peuples. Julien presents himself as a polished, handsome nobleman, captivating both the Baron and Jeanne during walks along the cliffs. Jeanne interprets his courteous demeanor as the arrival of her idealized suitor, unaware of his underlying financial ambition.
Jeanne marries Julien in the local chapel at Les Peuples before departing on a romantic expedition to Corsica. The wedding night exposes the awkward physical realities of marriage, startling Jeanne's delicate expectations. Amid the dramatic mountains of Corsica, brief moments of passion temporarily mask the fundamental gap between her romantic illusions and her husband's detachment.
Returning to Les Peuples for the cold Normandy winter, Julien assumes control of the family finances and reveals a harsh, miserly nature. He restricts household expenses, neglects his appearance, and ceases all romantic attention toward Jeanne. Solitude sets in as the grand estate becomes a bleak backdrop for Jeanne's growing sense of entrapment.
Rosalie, Jeanne's devoted maid and childhood companion, gives birth to a son during a freezing winter storm. When Jeanne investigates the child's paternity, she discovers Julien in Rosalie's bed, uncovering a long-standing affair. The discovery shatters Jeanne's faith in both her husband and her closest servant, plunging her into despair.
Jeanne flees into the freezing night toward the sea, falling dangerously ill from exposure. Baron Simon-Jacques and Abbé Picot intervene to prevent a public scandal, persuading Jeanne to forgive Julien for the sake of societal expectations. Rosalie is pensioned off with her child, and Jeanne's subsequent pregnancy redirects her emotional focus entirely toward motherhood.
The birth of Paul provides Jeanne with temporary solace, but her mother's sudden death brings a fresh emotional shock. While reading through the late Baroness's private correspondence, Jeanne discovers evidence of her mother's past extramarital affair. The revelation destroys Jeanne's saintly image of her mother and reinforces her belief that deceit governs human relationships.
Abbé Tolbiac replaces the tolerant Abbé Picot as parish priest, introducing an unyielding religious doctrine that terrorizes the local villagers. Meanwhile, Julien begins an open affair with Countess Gilberte de Fourville, riding across the countryside under the pretense of hunting. Abbé Tolbiac demands that Jeanne denounce the adulterers, but Jeanne refuses to intervene.
Count de Fourville discovers Julien and Gilberte hiding together in a wooden shepherd's cabin parked on a high cliff. Consumed by rage, the Count rolls the cabin down the steep slope into the ravine, killing both lovers instantly. The violent tragedy leaves Jeanne widowed and traumatized, cementing her retreat into maternal obsession.
Left alone with her young son Paul, nicknamed Poulet, Jeanne smothers him with indulgence alongside her aging father. She refuses to discipline the boy or send him away for schooling, sheltering him from every discomfort. This smothering environment cultivates in Paul a selfish, reckless temperament that prepares him poorly for adulthood.
Paul leaves for school in Le Havre and eventually vanishes into Paris, sending repeated frantic demands for money to cover his gambling debts and failed business ventures. Jeanne and the Baron sell land and mortgage Les Peuples to clear his obligations. Despite receiving no visits or affection from Paul, Jeanne continues to drain her assets to protect him.
Following the Baron's death, Jeanne finds herself completely insolvent and unable to maintain Les Peuples. Debt collectors force the sale of the ancestral estate, severing Jeanne's last physical link to her youth and family heritage. She prepares to leave her birthplace, stripped of her wealth and abandoned by her son.
Rosalie returns to take control of Jeanne's ruined affairs, organizing the sale of Les Peuples and moving Jeanne to a modest cottage in Batteville. Rosalie enforces strict financial discipline, managing the household and providing the grounded companionship Jeanne lost years earlier. Through Rosalie's practical care, Jeanne learns to endure her reduced circumstances with quiet resignation.
Paul's mistress dies in Paris after giving birth, leaving an infant girl whom Rosalie retrieves and brings home to Batteville. Holding her newborn granddaughter, Jeanne experiences a quiet renewal of affection and purpose. Rosalie observes that life is never as good or as bad as one believes, summarizing the enduring rhythm of human existence.
A gentle Normandy heiress endures marital betrayal, loss, and poverty while learning the true, bittersweet nature of existence.