Mademoiselle de Chartres had a first heart breaking experience : She was abandoned by a youth who wanted to have a somewhat open relationship with her. One night, a friend of her mother′s, Madame Silva introduces her to a widely-reputed doctor, Jacques de Cleves. He had fallen in love with the young girl when he saw her choosing a necklace in the company of her mother, in a famous jewelry store in the Place de Vendome. The young girl agrees to marry him although she feels no passion. This passion will be aimed at a young and fashionable singer, Pedro Abrunhosa. Realizing that this love is emerging, Mme. de Chartres, a short time before her death, warns her daughter to be prudent. Now no longer with the support of her mother, Mme. de Cleves goes to visit a colleague from school who lives in a convent in Paris. More and more under pressure due to her feelings for Pedro Abrunhosa, who tempts her to live out this passion, Mme. de Cleves decides to confess the secret of her love to her husband so that he may help her in this dilemma. But her husband becomes desperate and dies shortly after.