Ferdinand returns to Paris after spending eight years in solitude, writing an epic while out in the French wilderness. During his journey home, he encounters a woman and begins talking to her about the last decade of his life. He equates his time away with being on Mount Olympus and amongst the gods, to which the woman reveals her name is Diane, much like the goddess. She informs him of her childhood and hometown, which he recognizes and questions her about Madame Nicolas, a nun he'd known, but Diane is not familiar with her. Ferdinand leads her to a cafe with old friends where they all catch up and Diane begins to feel an emotional connection to him. Hearing of his greatness as a poet, as a man, Diane is amazed that a single person can contain such multitudes and concludes that Ferdinand is not a man—he is a god. Thus, she chooses to follow him when he leaves Paris, wanting to be his disciple, and Ferdinand agrees. Having sold his epic and received the money for it, Ferdinand insists that the two return to nature where truly meaningful work can be produced. He tells her that they will leave tomorrow at dawn. When dawn comes around, Ferdinand finds excuse after excuse to stay, whether it is to celebrate, to drink, or to relish in his love-hate relationship with Paris. Diane is growing impatient, seeing through his façade and begins to lose faith. At a cafe one night, Ferdinand leaves the guests he invited waiting for hours. Rumors spread amongst them that he must've disappeared again, as he had before, and that he must already be back in nature. Late into the night, Ferdinand finally appears, pronouncing that the work he's produced is of great importance. Reading it to the crowd, they are left in tears and Diane is reassured of his greatness. The duo leaves that next dawn in a horse-drawn cart, with Ferdinand informing the driver to take them to a location unbeknownst to Diane. They arrive in Diane's hometown while she is still asleep and Ferdinand directs the driver to a church, where they find Madame Nicolas. He reunites mother and daughter, getting teary in the process, then insists on fleeing the countryside, telling the driver to take him away from these Christians and back into nature.