During a midsummer night in the kitchen of an estate, two people play a game of cat-and-mouse. Julie, the headstrong young daughter of a count, feels trapped in the straightjacket of her origins and position. She likes to break conventions, especially when it comes to dealings between the upper and lower classes. Opposite her is Jean, the count's servant. He wants to move up. Silent witness in the game of attraction and repulsion between Julie and Jean is Christine, the cook and at the same time Jean's fiancée. What begins as a flirtation leads to a stalemate with no way out.