Logically, a world stands between Ariane and Solal; she, young and married, from a Geneva Protestant grand bourgeois family, he a Jewish diplomat, rising from nowhere to the second highest position in the League of Nations on the eve of the Second World War. Carried away by their ardent love, soon abandoned to themselves, alone, they not only have to face the rest of the worlds hostility, but above all, must battle their own demons. Solal is haunted by a totally obsessive love. Ariane is carried away by a passionate and physical love. But their love is based on an initial and fundamental understanding. He loves the idea of Ariane. She loves the reality of Solal.