Barbara is married to Georg Bertram, a medical professor who once saved her father's life. Their lives take a turn for the worse when she gives birth to a child with a mental disability. Georg, who has a cold and clinical demeanor, sees euthanasia as the only solution. However, Barbara manages to interrupt his deadly plan just in time. The couple then decides that Barbara will go to Saint-Guénolé in Brittany, where she and her son will be taken care of by Louise Kerbrec, Georg's former nurse, in the hope that the boy's condition might improve. Little do they know that Barbara will meet another doctor there, Daniel Karentis, who is more compassionate and attractive than Georg.