Jérémie Pastor returns from Toulouse to his hometown of Saint-Martial, Aveyron, to attend the funeral of his former boss, a local baker. The widow, Martine Rigal, invites him to spend the night at her house, and the next day he decides to extend his stay, drawn into the rhythms of village life and the familiarity of old faces.
The presence of Jérémie unsettles Martine's brutish son, Vincent Rigal, who resents the intrusion and the memories of his college days. Vincent's resentment grows as Jérémie forms a close bond with Walter Bonchamp, a longtime friend who begins dropping by regularly to chat over drinks.
Tensions rise when Vincent accuses Jérémie of wanting to have sex with his mother. During a confrontation, Vincent overpowers him and orders him to leave town. Later, during a visit to Walter's place, Walter rejects Jérémie's advances and throws him out, even threatening him with a shotgun. One day, Jérémie is walking along a road when Vincent drives him to a nearby forest, where another clash ends with Jérémie striking Vincent with a rock and killing him. He buries the body in the forest and abandons his car in Millau.
The next morning, Martine tells Jérémie that Vincent's wife, Annie, is worried because Vincent did not come home and was late for work. Jérémie claims he had a few drinks at Walter's before spending the night in a barn because of rain, though Walter says Jérémie was not at his place the previous night.
When Vincent's car is found in Millau, Martine and Annie grow suspicious of Jérémie. Jérémie provides a false alibi, saying that after Walter threw him out, Vincent found him on the road and they drove around in Vincent's car before he was dropped off in Millau with orders not to return.
The following day, Jérémie visits Walter, who is certain that Vincent would never leave town with his car. Walter is surprised when Jérémie says his attraction to him is genuine.
In the confessional of the village church, Father Philippe Griseul informs Jérémie that he knows he killed Vincent and offers to conceal the crime in exchange for Jérémie's affection, a request Jérémie does not reciprocate. Returning to Martine's house, Jérémie is questioned by a policeman and a policewoman; Jérémie insists that he and Vincent spent all night driving around and talking, and the officers suspect that Philippe is hiding something.
The following day, the two police officers confront Jérémie in the forest where Vincent's body is buried. He says Vincent beat him up in Millau—a detail not previously disclosed. As the policeman searches for holes, Philippe arrives and creates an alibi by claiming that Jérémie spent the night with him after returning from Millau and that they are secretly lovers.
That night, the officer attempts to question Jérémie in his sleep, and Jérémie screams for Martine, prompting the policeman to flee. The next night, as the officer returns to Martine's house, Jérémie sneaks out and rushes to the church, telling Philippe that Martine gave the policeman a key to her house. Anticipating the officer's next move, Philippe instructs Jérémie to pretend to be in bed with him, which misleads the officer when he arrives.
Later that night, Jérémie and Philippe dig up Vincent's body and move it to the local cemetery, where Philippe disposes of the remains. When Jérémie returns to Martine's house, she invites him to sleep by her side, and he asks to hold her hand, which she allows.
