the novel introduces Gilbert Nohèdes, who is a seminarian preparing to leave for his summer vacations. As he recollects his journey towards the priesthood, his thoughts drift from childhood innocence to the hardships of adolescence, marked by a profound loss and a moral crisis stemming from his father's infidelity. He experiences an inner battle between his spiritual ambitions and the allure of worldly pleasures, especially as he prepares to return to his hometown where memories of a childhood friend, Claire Mériel, haunt him. The tensions between his devout aspirations and the mundane realities of life begin to surface, setting the stage for deeper conflicts as the story unfolds. (This is an automatically generated summary.)