Amable Houlbreque, the owner of a miserable farm in the Pays de Caux objects to Césaire, his son, marrying Céleste, a brave and beautiful farm girl. All this because Céleste had a son from a farm hand and the old miser refuses to bring up a child who is not his. All the same, Césaire end Céleste settle down at the farm and the young man works tirelessly to feed the household. Alas he dies the next winter and Amable and his daughter find themselves alone, face-to-face...