A young woman is living in Paris with her mother and father in the mid-20th century. When her father meets a lawyer named Alexandre Pons and learns his twenty-six-year-old son is single, he invites the family to dinner. The son, Arnaud, soon becomes engaged to the young woman, Sylvie. When Sylvie and her mother are preparing the wedding invitations, however, Sylvie admits that she does not love Arnaud. She explains to her mother that she has been writing to a man named Bernard Brunelle, whom she is much more fond of and intends to marry. Because Bernard's family is of a higher status than Arnaud's, the mother agrees to cancel the wedding immediately and dumps the invitations in the Seine. A few days later, Sylvie's parents invite Arnaud to their apartment, and when he arrives, they present him with a letter they have written on behalf of their daughter, explaining that Sylvie no longer wishes to marry him. Sylvie watches from upstairs, noticing Arnaud's stunned expression as he reads the letter. Her father then writes to Mr. Brunelle, expressing his excitement for their children's union. Mr. Brunelle writes in return, however, that Bernard is not planning on marrying anytime soon and has no romantic interest in Sylvie. At first, Sylvie's mother believes that Mr. Brunelle must be lying and comes to her daughter's defense. When Sylvie explains that Bernard never explicitly mentioned marriage and that she had only assumed he was interested, however, Sylvie's parents scold her harshly for being so foolish. The family is so distraught that they do not go on holiday, even when everyone else in the city leaves to go out of town. Sylvie's best friend Chantal tries to cheer her up, suggesting she get a haircut and enroll in classes to become a teacher in a nursery. When Sylvie suggests the idea to her parents, however, they are horrified by it, explaining that children are messy and difficult to care for. Sylvie does eventually get her hair cut to a shorter, trendy style, which is more appropriate for her age. Sylvie is invited to join Chantal and her new fiancé on their holiday. When she is gone, her mother meets with Mrs. Pons to ask if Arnaud is still interested in marriage. Mrs. Pons responds that he has recently taken a job in Rennes but agrees to mention the idea to him. Soon after Sylvie returns, Arnaud takes a train from Rennes and meets her for lunch in Paris. Sylvie is nervous and mostly remains quiet, afraid to say something that may upset him. When Arnaud finally addresses the way their relationship ended, he places the blame on Sylvie's mother for allowing her to act on an impulse and on Bernard for toying with a young woman's emotions. Arnaud says that though it is different than before, he does still love her. He supports the idea of Sylvie becoming a teacher, since that way she can be more independent. He also encourages her to pursue her passion for art and says he will watch their future children while she paints. Sylvie is shocked by this offer but recognizes Arnaud's kindness. After lunch, Sylvie gets a ticket for the platform just to watch Arnaud's train depart, and she then walks the long way back to her family's apartment so that she can feel she is experiencing the journey home with him.