When Danielle Marton's father is killed during the early days of the German occupation of France, her mother sends her to live in a quiet farming town. Now called Marie-Jean Chantier, Danielle struggles to balance the truth of what's happened to her family and her country with the lies she must tell to keep herself safe. At first, she's bitter about being left behind by her mother, and horrified at having to milk the cows and memorise Catholic prayers for church. But as the years pass, Danielle finds it easier to suppress her former life entirely, and Marie-Jean becomes less and less of an act. By the time she's fifteen and there is talk amongst the now divided town of an Allied invasion, Danielle has transformed into a strict Catholic, a fervent disciple of fascism, as well as a German collaborator.