Le Val d'Enfer plot
The foreman of a quarry in Haute Provence, Noël Bienvenu, lives with his elderly parents after the death of his wife. Shortly after his son Bastien is sent to prison for a minor theft, Noël visits an old friend who, on his deathbed, asks the foreman to take care of his daughter Marthe. In the wake of a fateful romance in Marseille, Marthe feels particularly eager to start a new life and therefore accepts Noël's invitation to live in his house. Noël falls in love with Marthe, and although he is twenty years older than her, they marry. However, it doesn't take long before Marthe realizes her mistake. Bored of her husband and bored with her life in the quarry, she begins a relationship with a young officer.