Paris during the 1920s. Ever since her parents' separation, ten-year-old Maisie has been travelling to and fro between her father Beale Farange and her mother Ida. She spends half a year with each one alternately. But neither parent can provide Maisie with the warmth and affection she so desperately needs.

The Moreen family hires Pemberton to tutor young Morgan. Pemberton has no money of his own, and the social non-conformity of his employers condemns him to the impossibility of being paid. Yet an emotional relationship develops between master and pupil. Little by little, Morgan becomes an object of blackmail. Having run out of arguments, the parents give their son to his teacher. The child, abandoned by his parents, dies.