Laurent de Courtomer, the son of a French aristocratic emigré and an Englishwoman, returns to France upon the Bourbon restoration following Napoleon's defeat in 1814. He meets a young Breton Royalist officer who quite turns his head with hero worship: Aymar de la Rocheterie. But when Napoleon escapes from Elba and war breaks out again, Laurent meets Aymar again, severely wounded and under suspicion of treason. As Laurent nurses him back to health, the evidence against Aymar seems to become worse and worse. Will Aymar be able to clear his name, and will Laurent's devotion to him remain unshaken? - summary by Elin