France, 1897. Young Claire Roy is a rebellious beauty with a proud disposition. She is as freedom-loving as her faithful and unusual pet - a wolf cub, whom the girl saved from starvation and took home. But now the prospect of poverty and hunger hangs over Claire's own family. The business of her father, Master Colin Roy, is going through hard times. To pay off his debts, Colin is forced to marry his daughter to the son of a wealthy landowner, Frederic Giraud. Claire knows that he is cruel and unprincipled, and she feels nothing but hostility towards him. One day in the valley, Claire meets a young escaped convict, Jean. This meeting was destined for them. Two hearts striving for freedom will be united by passion. But the chief of the Angumoise police is on the trail of Jean, and Claire has already been promised to someone else...