Lionel, a young travelling salesman, works for a company selling electrical products. He and his family endured a dreadful time during the Second World War, but life is comfortable for them now. An excellent salesman, he is confident in his work, but rather shy with young women. He regrets never having had a girlfriend.
His manager offers him the chance to pay a week's visit to a part of France of his own choosing, where the company do not currently do any business, to see if he can obtain orders there. He readily agrees and consults his family. For some reason, his grandmother is impelled to suggest that he should go to northeast France, near the border with Belgium.
Upon arrival, he discovers in a very strange way an unexpected fact about his family's history. There is a prospect of romance for him, but will work pressures and his shyness get in the way of finding love?
At times he meets with anti-Semitism, which shocks him particularly as he is patriotically French, with secular attitudes. He encounters fascinating characters, whose lives have been impacted by the World Wars, sometimes tragically.
How will his life at work and at a personal level evolve? Will he succeed in business, as well as finding true love?