The story takes place in Montreal, principally in the poor neighbourhood of Saint-Henri, between February 1940 and May 1940, during the Second World War, when Quebec is still suffering from the Great Depression. Florentine Lacasse, a nineteen year-old waitress at the "Five and Ten" restaurant, financially supports her large family. Her mother, Rose-Anna, stays home to take care of her eleven children while Florentine's father, Azarius, struggles to maintain a job due to his perpetual unhappiness. Florentine dreams of a better life and falls in love with Jean Lévesque, an ambitious and well-off machinist-electrician. Wanting to satisfy his withered ego, Jean agrees to date Florentine. Quickly tiring of the relationship, he introduces her to a friend, Emmanuel Létourneau, who is a soldier on leave. Emmanuel falls in love with Florentine. Despite this, Florentine's attraction towards Jean will have important consequences in her life; the more obsessive her feelings for Jean become, the more vulnerable she is. The turning point of the novel is Jean's sexual assault of Florentine, after which she becomes pregnant with Jean's child. In order for her to avoid the trope of the "fallen woman," she keeps the pregnancy a secret and marries Emmanuel, as he promises to support her.
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