It is based on a 1938 novel of the same name by Hubert Monteilhet and tells the story of a young woman named Marie who leaves her home in the countryside and travels to Paris in search of a new life.
She falls in love with a man named Julien, who is involved in a criminal underworld. Marie becomes increasingly involved in Julien's dangerous world, and eventually finds herself in a prison cell, accused of the murder of a prostitute.
The film premiered in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.