Isabelle Rossignol realizes France has been misled: the Maginot Line failed, the government fled Paris, and German takeover is imminent. Her father, Julien, insists she leave the city and go to her sister Vianne’s home in Carriveau, arguing Vianne is alone with her child while Antoine is at the front. Isabelle pleads to stay and fight, but Julien forces her into the Humberts’ car, making clear he will not reconsider.

The Humberts’ overloaded automobile crawls through a massive refugee exodus of women, children, and the elderly. Inside the stifling car, Isabelle watches the desperation outside and feels her anger sharpen into a familiar sense of being discarded—by her father and, she believes, by Vianne. Her resentment triggers memories of being sent away as a child and learning what it meant to be unwanted and alone.

Hours later, the car runs out of petrol near Étampes. The Humberts decide to walk to town for shelter and food, but in the crush of bodies Isabelle is jostled and nearly robbed of her valise; when she tries to find the Humberts again, they are gone in the crowd’s noise and movement. Afraid of being trampled if she stops, Isabelle joins the flow toward Étampes, now essentially abandoned and on her own.

By nightfall Isabelle is exhausted, blistered, thirsty, and hungry, recognizing she packed books and clothes instead of food and water. Convinced Étampes will be stripped bare and full, she chooses not to enter town; instead, she uses her memory of the region to peel away from the refugees and head southwest alone toward Tours and ultimately Carriveau, finding a quieter trail through fields and woods.

Drawn by the smell of smoke and roasting meat, Isabelle approaches a hidden campfire and is confronted by a young man who calls himself Gaëtan “Gaët” Dubois. He feeds her rabbit and wine, explains he has just been released from prison to fight, and says he intends to check on his mother and sister before joining a regiment. When Gaët invites Isabelle to come with him to fight, Isabelle—feeling seen for more than her beauty—agrees to a plan: they will go to Carriveau to check on Vianne, then continue toward Gaët’s family and the war.