Return of the Hero

Neuville proposes to Pauline Beaugrand and the couple become engaged in the Burgundy countryside during the Napoleonic Wars. Élisabeth immediately suspects that the captain is a liar and a fraud, casting doubt on the budding romance. The tension between appearances and truth drives the early conflict.

Just before the wedding, Neuville receives orders to rejoin his hussar unit marching against Austria. He rides away, leaving Pauline behind and promising to write every day. The separation seeds doubt and longing that will linger through the story.

As weeks pass without letters, Pauline falls ill with worry. To cheer her up, Élisabeth begins forging letters from Neuville, masking his absence with invented adventures. The deception marks the beginning of a painful family ruse.

Following the Austrian campaign, Élisabeth's forged letters claim Neuville has been posted to India. They describe him fighting the British, growing tobacco, and even raising elephants. The increasingly elaborate tale feeds the town's imagination and deepens the deception.

Tiring of the subterfuge, Élisabeth writes that Neuville is engaged in what may be his last battle, and then the letters stop. Pauline is left in uncertainty again, doubting what she is told and what she feels. The ruse has become a double-edged weapon in their lives.

Pauline marries the shy neighbour Nicolas and soon has two children. The quiet family life contrasts with the earlier intrigue. The community treats Neuville's supposed adventures as a distant memory.

In town one day, Élisabeth spots a stinking vagrant who turns out to be Neuville. He admits he is a penniless deserter, and she gives him money to go away. He uses the money to clean up and visits Élisabeth's family, returning as a compelling, dangerous figure.

Neuville reveals a diamond mine in India and starts offering shares, captivating the locals with his tall tale. He is also described as defrauding local landowners and, to complicate things, begins an affair with Pauline. The web of lies and desire tightens around them all.

Élisabeth is furious when she learns of Neuville's deception and the affair; she tells Nicolas. Nicolas, an excellent shot, challenges Neuville to a pistol duel as a test of pride. The feud between them escalates toward a dangerous confrontation.

Pauline bursts in on the planned duel, and Nicolas takes her home, postponing the fight. Neuville breathes a sigh of relief, unsure how long the deception can survive. The delay postpones a potentially deadly blow to his schemes.

An artillery regiment arrives in the area to stop marauding Cossacks, and a general comes to lunch with Élisabeth's parents at Beaugard's house. Neuville's stories enchant the general, who later leaves as the enemy closes in. Russian cavalry line up to attack Beaugard's house, heightening the peril.

Neuville decides to face the charge and stands his ground, firing his rifle to bring down several opponents. The artillery finds their range and devastaes the attackers, leaving Neuville a celebrated hero. He is reinstated in his regiment.

Élisabeth at last agrees to marry Neuville, but the wedding is interrupted when he receives orders to rejoin his unit. He rides away again, promising to write every day as the story moves toward its uncertain end.