In 1386, most of the citizens from Paris are attending a trial by combat where
knights Jean and Jaques will be dueling each other under the watch of the King,
Lord Pierre, Marguerite and all their friends. As the knights ride their horses to start the combat,
the beginning of the story is revealed. First comes Jean's perspective, starting in 1370 during
the Caroline War. By Pierre's orders, Jean's army is supposed to hold the bridge, especially since
the enemy is clearly outnumbering them. But Jean wants victory for his king and charges onward
anyway as his army follows him closely. The battle is incredibly fierce and Jacques almost loses his
life during it, but Jean saves him just in time and Jacques is very grateful for it.
They win the fight but not protecting the bridge costs their allies their own battles,
so Pierre is furious with them and makes them return home. In 1377, Jean and Jacques swear their
allegiance to Pierre after the King names him the overlord of those lands. Sometime later, Jacques
visits Jean as Pierre's new debt collector. Jean doesn't have the money to pay though, so Jacques
promises to speak to Pierre to see if he can understand the situation as long as Jean gives him
at least a few coins. In 1380, Jean wants to go out to battle again, which Jacques disapproves of.
Jean already lost his wife and son, so if he dies without an heir, all his belongings will go to
Pierre. After pointing out Pierre has made Jacques his favorite, Jean explains he isn't only fighting
for the sake of fighting, he also needs the money because he's broke. This time Jean's army
is victorious, and when they come home, Jean gets to meet Sir Robert. He used to be allied with the
enemy, but he's been pardoned and now he provides shelter and vittles for the army. Jean also meets
Robert's beautiful daughter Marguerite and doesn't waste time asking for her hand in marriage.
While discussing the dowry, Jean asks for it to include the prized estate of Aunou-le-Faucon,
and while Robert is hesitant, he accepts. Jean and Marguerite get married in a joyful celebration,
but while Jean enjoys their first night together, Marguerite is rather disappointed by it.
Unfortunately, Jean doesn't get Aunou-le-Faucon in the end because Pierre buys it from Robert
and gifts it to Jacques as a thank-you present for helping him with his finances. Jacques swears he
didn't ask for it and it was all Pierre's idea, but Jean stays bitter and angry. This estate's
incredibly important for Marguerite because it holds many important childhood memories, so Jean
promises her to fight for it. He decides to take matters to the king, but his petition is denied.
Pierre doesn't like the fact Jean has tried to sue and soon an opportunity for revenge shows up.
Jean's father had the captaincy of a family post, but when he dies, instead of giving it to Jean as
the heir, Pierre gifts it to Jacques. After promising his mother Nicole that she can live
with him, Jean goes to confront Pierre at a party. Later, he tells Marguerite that he spoke to the
lord calmly while reminding them of his family's history with the captaincy, but Pierre still
refused to give it to him. Jean is sure Jacques kept whispering words against Jean into Pierre's
ear, and is disappointed that his friend never even tried to talk to him. Because of this, Jean
and Marguerite won't be welcome in court anymore. A year later, Marguerite receives an invitation
from a family friend that is celebrating their firstborn. She thinks enough time has passed
for them to show their faces in court again and show they've carried on in the face of injustice.
To Marguerite's joy, Jean accepts to attend. At the party, Jean and Jacques reconcile, and Jean
asks Marguerite to kiss Jacques to show their good faith - she does so rather awkwardly. In 1385,
Jean leaves for another battle that they lose but still gets him knighted for his efforts.
When he returns home, Marguerite welcomes him with a hug and expresses worry over the fact he's sick.
Jean doesn't care about his fever though, he wants to go to Paris to get paid and report to Pierre,
and Nicole encourages him to do so. After getting the gold they owed him, Jean returns home only to
find Marguerite behaving cold and distant. Later, when he tries to spend the night with her, she
turns him down and proceeds to explain why. Nicole ignored Jean's orders to never leave Marguerite
alone and one afternoon, she left with all the servants. Jacques took advantage of her being
alone to sneak into the house and had his way with her against her will. Jean hugs Marguerite as he
apologizes for not protecting her and promises to make Jacques answer for what he's done.
The next day, Jean shares what happened with the town council and asks them to tell everyone, that
way Pierre will have no choice but to grant them an audience. Nicole disapproves, thinking this
will bring gossip and shame to the family. Then, Jeans goes to see the King to ask for a trial
by combat to let God decide who is telling the truth. The advisors remind him that if he loses,
Marguerite will suffer the consequences as well, but Jean trusts her story. Months later, the trial
begins at the Palace of Justice. Jean formally accuses Jacques of the worst crime against his
wife and leaves his glove as he asks to end this in combat if Jacques doesn't confess. Then the
story goes back to the beginning to see Jacques' perspective. During that battle in 1386, when Jean
rushes in to attack, the army doesn't immediately follow. After failing to warn Jean that they
just were being baited, Jacques convinces the others to follow Jean in the name of the king.
Later, Jacques does talk to Pierre about the rent as promised, defending Jean from Pierre's insults.
Jacques thinks Jean is loyal and trustworthy, and Pierre warns him not to stay blind when the
time comes. Since then, Jacques and Pierre become close friends. Pierre invites Jacques to all his
dinner parties and even shares the women with him, and Pierre eventually trusts Jacques with
his financial problems. Jacques accepts the job to threaten the lords until they pay up,
and that's how he manages to get the estate of Aunou-le-Faucon from Robert before learning about
Jean's engagement to Robert's daughter. Pierre still considers Robert a traitor, thus he sees
this wedding as another point against Jean. When Jacques informs him that Jean is suing them both,
Pierre just laughs and reminds Jacques he did warn him Jean never had good intentions.
This is the moment Pierre chooses to give the captaincy to Jacques, and while he does point
out it'll make Jean furious, he doesn't protest against the idea. The day Jacques receives the
captaincy is the day of the celebration that Jean interrupts with furious yelling. Jacques tries to
talk to him in private, but Jean ignores him and threatens with suing again, so Pierre dismisses
him with humiliating words that have everyone laughing at Jean as he leaves. When the invitation
to the firstborn party arrives, Pierre doesn't want to go, and he wants Jacques to stay as well.
However, Jacques wants to go because he heard Jean is going and it's about time to close this wound.
It's the least he can do considering Jacques was the godfather of Jean's late son, but Pierre still
thinks he's too naive. At the party, Jacques sees Marguerite for the first time because Jean never
lets her leave the house and he's impressed by her beauty. The kiss also leaves quite an impression,
so later Jacques tries to befriend Marguerite, and the two of them end up having a deep discussion
about literature. Developing a crush, Jacques is surprised by this and thinks Marguerite
doesn't belong to Jean's side because he's an illiterate that can't appreciate what he has.
For the rest of the day, Jacques can't take his eyes off her and considers her smiles a good sign.
The following weeks, Jacques can't stop thinking about Marguerite. He dreams about her, and won't
stop looking at her whenever he sees her at the market. The day Jean comes to report to Pierre
after the battle that knighted him, Pierre makes fun of him in front of everyone. Jacques tries
to show support, but Jean only gets angry at him for using his name instead of calling him "sir".
Jean also calls him out for getting gifts from Pierre while being here doing nothing instead of
fighting with his brothers in arms. Knowing Jean isn't home, Jacques goes to see Marguerite with
a trick prepared on his sleeve. He first sends in one of his friends pretending to need help to
get Marguerite to open the door, then Jacques slips inside and confesses his love for her,
which is turned down. After kicking his friend out, Jacques follows Marguerite around the house,
refusing to take no for an answer and noticing she takes off her shoes when going upstairs.
When they make it to the bedroom, Jacques catches her and throws her on the bed, where Marguerite
says "no" a couple of times before falling silent as Jacques takes her by force. Once they're done,
Jacques asks her not to tell her husband because he may kill her and not to feel guilty because
they just couldn't help themselves. Afterward, Jacques goes to church to confess his sins,
and the priest tells him this is a test. When the accusations begin reaching everyone's ears,
Pierre asks Jacques if it's true, and Jacques denies it. He explains that Marguerite did the
customary protest because she's a lady, but it wasn't against her will. Pierre isn't sure if
believing him because Jacques has been acting weird lately, some Jacques points out he's been
consumed by a love like no other. Accepting this story, Pierre advises him not to tell this version
of events because the common mind won't understand the nuances of it, so Jacques must deny it until
the very end. Later, Pierre tries to clean Jacques' name by talking to the town council,
but his efforts result to be in vain when they learn that the King will grant a trial.
Jacques is offered the benefit of clergy to escape justice, but he turns it down because
he doesn't want to look like a coward. On the day of the trial, Jacques denies all charges
and picks up the glove, accepting the duel. Then the story starts over for the third time,
this time showing Marguerite's perspective, which is also the truth. The day of the wedding,
Jean is angry that the estate of Aunou-le-Faucon isn't included in the dowry, but Robert convinces
him to marry Marguerite anyway because she's a healthy woman that will give him strong heirs.
Marguerite is nervous during their first wedding night and while Jean is happy with the result,
she isn't, but she lies and says she was. During the party when she met Jacques,
she's extra friendly toward him as a sign of good will and to help Jean win back the court's favor.
While chatting with the other ladies at the party, including her friend Marie, Marguerite agrees that
Jacques is handsome but also points out Jean doesn't trust him. Her smiles for Jacques are
a way to show Jean that kindness achieves more than anger, but Jacques misreads this as romantic
interest. The first time Jean leaves for battle, he leaves Marguerite in charge of the estate.
This finally gives her something to do, and soon Marguerite has color on her face again,
feeling more alive than ever. She's also gentler with the servant and tenants than Jean was,
but she can't escape Nicole's judgment, who keeps calling her a bad wife for not being
able to get pregnant. Jean and Marguerite's relationship grows tenser as time passes.
Marguerite still hasn't managed to give Jean an heir, and she hasn't been able to find pleasure
in their nights together either. She decides to see a doctor, who points out she's suffering from
melancholia, causing her body to be cold and dry. He also explains that her reaching a pleasurable
conclusion is necessary to get pregnant, but Marguerite says she isn't sure if she ever
got to experience that. The doctor says that if she found their private nights enjoyable,
then she already has experienced the "little death", but Marguerite stays doubtful. Afterward,
she goes shopping for a new dress with Marie and shares her marriage is going through a rough time.
When Jacques sees them and bows for Marguerite, both women agree that he's handsome yet also
very offensive. When Jean returns from war, Marguerite receives him wearing her new dress.
There's no hug, only Jean getting angry at her for wearing a low cleavage because it makes her look
like a harlot. Later, Nicole speaks against the dress as well, and Marguerite stands her ground,
surprisingly getting Jean's support. However, when he says he's leaving to get paid soon,
Jean reminds his mother not to allow Marguerite to leave the house, which upsets her because she
wanted to see her friends. The day Jacques visits, it mostly goes the same way, except he's actually
much more aggressive towards Marguerite and insulting towards Jean. Marguerite doesn't take
off her shoes as an invitation, she accidentally loses her while trying to escape from him.
In the bedroom, she fights as hard as she can against Jacques and never stops screaming and
crying for help, showing how she absolutely hates the experience. After Jacques leaves,
Marguerite tries to take a bath to get rid of her attacker's seed, but it's interrupted when Nicole
and the servants come back. Since then, Marguerite is distant and doesn't eat well. Marie comes over
to visit her and tell her she's pregnant, which makes Marguerite cry, but she pretends it's from
happiness. Later, when Jean comes home and Marguerite shares what happened, Jean reacts
with anger, going as far as grabbing her by the neck. Marguerite swears she's telling the truth,
so Jean lets her go and, ignoring how she feels, he assumes Jacques did this just to hurt him.
Crying, Marguerite explains she wants to speak up but nobody will take her seriously without
his support, and Jean accepts to help as long as Marguerite spends one more night with him to avoid
Jacques being "the last man that knew her". After talking to the town council, Marie begins ignoring
Marguerite - she doesn't believe her because she remembers Marguerite saying Jacques is handsome.
Afterward, Marguerite has an argument with Jean, not liking the way the story is spreading as
gossip. Unfortunately, Jean points out that Pierre is the courts, and this is the only way they'll be
granted a trial. Later, Nicole scolds Marguerite for speaking up because it's brought shame to
the family. She thinks the truth doesn't matter and offers herself as an example: the same thing
happened to Nicole when she was young, and she stayed silent for the sake of her own safety. When
the trial finally begins months later, Marguerite is pregnant, and the judges have lots of questions
for her that try to make her look like she's lying. They point out that she said Jacques was
handsome in the past, and that she's pregnant now after years of failing to birth an heir.
Believing it's true that you need to enjoy the experience to get pregnant, they accuse
her of carrying Jacques' baby because she did like being with him, but Marguerite denies it,
explaining abuse could never be enjoyable. Seeing as they cannot reach a conclusion,
the King agrees to carry on with the duel, but first, the judges remind her that if Jean loses,
she'll be burnt. This is news to her, and she's upset Jean didn't warn her of this, but she still
agrees to continue as planned because she believes in her truth. After the trial, Jean argues with
Marguerite in public, jealous because he's learned about her calling Jacques handsome, thinking
this has brought him shame in front of his King. Marguerite calls him out in return for not telling
her about the punishment, and for using her as an excuse to finally get revenge on Jacques.
The night before the duel, Marguerite gives birth to a healthy baby boy. It's the most happiness
she's ever experienced, and she worries the baby may grow up an orphan if the duel goes wrong. She
also can't help wondering if she would've stayed silent about the abuse to protect her son if she
had had him earlier. The next day, Marguerite is taken to see the duel in chains, and she swears
she's telling the truth once more before the fight begins. Jacques and Jean start by jousting,
and after losing their mounts, they change to hand-to-hand. It begins as a fair match for both
sides, but Jacques soon overpowers Jean and stabs him in his thigh. However, Jean refuses to give
up, so when he falls to the ground, he waits there on purpose for Jacques to approach. Once his enemy
is close enough, Jean hits his legs to make him fall, then he proceeds to sit on top of Jacques,
asking him to confess his crime. Jacques still denies what he did, and Jean finally kills him.
As Marie and Pierre feel humiliated for supporting the wrong person, Marguerite is free from the
chains and taken to the middle of the arena, where Jean hugs her and presents her for everyone to
clap at. Then, the couple leaves in their horses while the entire town celebrates their victory.
Jacques' body is tied to a horse and dragged through the ground before it's hung upside down in
public. Marguerite's son grows to be beautiful and strong. Jean dies fighting in the Crusades a few
years later, and Marguerite takes over the estate, happily living as a lady that never remarries.