Algiers, February 1903: verdict of the trial in Margueritte, an Algerian village where, during a revolt, seven Europeans were killed. She is dead and he loves her. She is Eugénia, thirty years old, daughter of Spanish colonists. He is Jean Corveler, her husband, lawyer for the accused. Eugénia seeks her place with Jean, but with Jean there is also Adèle. Alongside Eugénia, there is her sister: Dolorès, whom she loves and detests strangely. Dolorès is also Adèle's friend. There are parents, conservatives, liars, haters and a secret. Throughout a story backwards, we learn the reasons which led Eugénia to commit suicide, and how her individual destiny and that of colonial Algeria are intimately linked.