Estelle is a psychiatrist dedicated to her profession, a fervent practitioner of Ericksonian hypnosis, who leads an almost peaceful life with her husband and son. But her life is turned upside down the day Thomas, her first love, reappears in her life, hospitalized in her department following a suicide attempt. He is soon accused of killing a doctor, Estelle’s rival. Estelle then flees with Thomas to the Provençal countryside to try to clear his name and treat him. Her husband David and her best friend Agathe, while investigating to find them before the authorities, discover Thomas’s very troubled personality and suspect him of being a threat to Estelle. It is in this chase that the secrets binding Estelle and Thomas finally resurface…
With the birth of her son, Laura is installed in the upper valley of Pyrenees, the Valley of the Eagles, somewhere between France and Spain, ready to rebuild their lives.
Muriel, a writer nearing 50 whose older lover won't live with her in Paris, meets a man on a train - Samuel, an Arab. He's attracted to her and pursues her, dropping in, asserting himself. She's willing to connect. He's passionate, then boorish, then jealous and possessive. He seems fixed on "Who's the strongest?," while she wants respect and trust. She's self-possessed as well as sexually charged, willing to laugh, and alternately firm and forgiving. He has little money, no immigration papers, few prospects, and a gambling jag. What does each want, and why does she stick with it? Is this colonial strife, war between the sexes, or a love story?