Too good for him. A young woman, Nelly, is experiencing an unsuccessful marriage with her husband, Jerome. Nelly is a beautiful woman who does not know how to use her beauty for selfish purposes. As a rule, beauties know their value and profitably use this knowledge, safely settling in life or at least in material terms. Nelly's not like that. She is also a perfectionist. And it is not even that an infantile spouse can not support it. This becomes only an indirect pretext for Nelly to one day tell Jerome, "Goodbye."
Nelly soon has a chance to make money. An elderly former judge, Pierre Arnault, invites her to become his private secretary. Pierre is about to publish his memoirs, but Nelly must first type and edit them. After some thought, Nelly agrees. It is not surprising that Monsieur Arnault soon imbues her with feelings more serious than those that have become a reason for acquaintance.
The inner struggle of an aging man with surging feelings is the essence of another Claude Sote story about the winter heart (if you recall the title of the previous film of this director), which, fearing responsibility and affection, avoids serious relationships. Monsieur Arnault realizes that in the person of Nelly is dealing with a pure and blameless creature, even though Nelly manages to twist a short love affair with a young publisher.
And that is why it does not give her, as well as herself, any reason to expect anything more significant. It would seem that the director offers too far-fetched situation, artificial and unreal melodramatic layout. However, the intellectual melancholy, with which Sote usually seasons the plots of his paintings, as best as possible conveys the extraordinary nature of the story, in which the beauty is not lucky in relations with men, and an experienced and wealthy patron does not consciously use the chance to become the lover of a charming woman.