Retired merchant Monsieur Bondel has settled in the quiet town of Saint-Germain together with his wife, where he looks forward to a peaceful retirement together. The move is not quite the success he hopes for, as, without occupation, the couple argues constantly. When Bondel makes the acquaintance of a neighbour, Madame Bondel is enraged, and the couple has their most intense argument yet. A gripping short story from the famous French author Guy de Maupassant, about family, love, trust, and adultery.