This film unfolds its core story in three chapters, each told from the perspective of a different central figure. For clarity and continuity, this summary merges those threads into one continuous narrative while staying true to what each part reveals and how they converge.
After serving in the Caroline War, French squires Jean de Carrouges and Jacques le Gris pledge their loyalty to Count Pierre d'Alençon, who has been named Jean's overlord by King Charles VI. In a bid to improve his finances, Jean marries Marguerite de Thibouville with the expectation of a substantial dowry from Marguerite's father, Robert, a dowry that would grant rights to valuable estates. Yet Pierre uses Robert’s back taxes to seize the coveted estate of Aunou-le-Faucon and transfers it to Jacques, who has become one of Pierre’s favorites. Jean takes this injustice to the royal court, but King Charles VI dismisses the suit, and Pierre retaliates by elevating Jacques to the captaincy of a Carrouges family post after Jean’s father dies.
The marriage between Jean and Marguerite grows strained as they struggle to conceive a child. The two men repair their own rift at a celebratory gathering, and in the course of that social circle, Jacques becomes smitten with Marguerite. He reads her friendliness as an acceptance of his affections, misinterpreting her kindness as a signal that she does not truly love Jean.
After a failed Scottish campaign that earns him a knighthood but leaves him financially ruined, Jean travels to Paris to claim his wage. In his absence, Marguerite proves herself capable of managing the estate and the household. One evening, when she is alone at the château, Jacques visits under the pretense of friendship, declares his love in a boastful, intrusive manner, and relentlessly pursues Marguerite. She resists and tries to flee, but he corners her, rapes her, and then orders her not to tell her husband.
When Jean returns and learns of the assault, he questions whether Marguerite is telling the truth, and he becomes convinced that Jacques raped her specifically to insult him. He pressures Marguerite to have sex with him so that Jacques will not be the last man to know her, a demand that reveals how fragile trust and pride have become in their marriage.
Pierre informs Jacques that Jean intends to press rape charges, but Jacques denies the accusation. Despite Pierre’s attempts to enforce his authority, Jean takes his case directly to King Charles and calls for a duel to the death. Marguerite’s friends abandon her, convinced she is covering up an affair, while Jean’s mother—who was also raped in her youth but never spoke of it—urges Marguerite to drop the charge. Six months later, Jacques undergoes a trial, and Marguerite, now pregnant, remains steadfast in her claim of truth, while the court hints that Jacques could be the father of the child. King Charles grants a duel to settle the matter, and Marguerite learns that if her husband loses, she could be burned for perjury. She confronts Jean with this knowledge, and soon after, she gives birth to a son.
The duel pits Jean and Jacques against each other on the field. They joust, both losing their mounts, and their confrontation moves to brutal, close-quarters combat. After a protracted struggle, Jean is wounded in the groin but gains the upper hand, finally pinning Jacques and demanding a confession of truth. Jacques maintains his innocence, and Jean fulfills his vow by killing him. The victory brings a somber triumph for Jean, while Jacques’ body is publicly displayed and Pierre looks on with a grave, somber eye.
An epilogue reveals the long shadow of the tale: Jean dies years later while fighting in the Crusades, and Marguerite remains the steady steward of the estate, living in relative peace for the rest of her life but never remarrying. The narrative thus closes on a meditation about truth, power, and the social codes that shape and sometimes shattered lives in a world where a single act can reverberate across years, communities, and destinies.
