Jean Barnery, is a Protestant minister whose family owns a famous porcelain factory. When his marriage collapses because of his wife Nathalie′s infidelity, he finds himself attracted to 20-year-old Pauline and decides to leave the ministry for her. He and Pauline leave for Switzerland, but their pastoral idyll is brought to an end when, against Pauline′s wishes, Jean returns to Limoges to revive the family business. War intervenes, and when peace arrives Jean seems even more driven to return the company to its former glory. The hostility of labor unions, foreign competition, and the 1929 economic crisis combine to put Jean in peril. Forced to reduce production and lay off workers, his dreams crumble. Incapacitated by a fall, Jean is discouraged and appears ready to throw in the towel. To save him and the plant, Pauline tries to pick up where her husband left off. It is in this, the ultimate proof of her love that provides the simple, luminous meaning of the story of Jean and Pauline...