John, just out of prison, becomes the lover of the widow Couderc that hosts it. Old maid who married the son of her employers, she must now defend itself against the greed of her sisters and her niece. It focuses on Jean with morbid jealousy. But he dreamed only of peaceful happiness ... The Widow Couderc was brought to the screen in 1971 by Pierre Granier-Deferre with Simone Signoret and Alain Delon.