The Baron intends to marry his son Perdican to his niece Camille, who has just left the convent. The two young people meet again after ten years of separation in the manor where they have grown, played and loved each other. The trouble is that Camille, indoctrinated by the nurses, distrusts all men, including Perdican, and wishes to devote herself to God. She therefore rejects her cousin's advances. Perdican is desperate but after a while he thinks he has found a way out: he will seduce Rosette, a young farm girl and Camille's foster sister, and arouse the jealousy of his cousin. But is flirting with love such a good idea?