Paris, 1778. Élisabeth d’Arsac is a ravishing young woman who turns the head of every man she meets. Attached to her freedom, she wants to experience love without the inconveniences of marriage.
She meets a dark, handsome stranger during a costumed ball and, between two dances, she indulges in an amorous interlude with him which awakens all sorts of new sensations inside her.
A few days later, the mysterious stranger is received in the salon of the d’Arsac family. This young American seems all the more attractive as he shares Élisabeth’s innovative ideas concerning women’s education. She arranges a secret rendezvous at an inn to take him as her lover. It is only then that he realises that she is a virgin.
This leaves him no choice: in order not to dishonour her, he must ask for her hand in marriage. Élisabeth is convinced that her father will reject his proposal, but to her surprise he agrees to let her marry him.
What Élisabeth has always dreaded the most has come to pass: she is now someone’s wife. It’s hardly the most auspicious start to married life, but love soon conquers all…