The life of Jerome, a middle-aged intellectual, is completely governed by reason rather than by heart. A French diplomat, he is engaged to a woman he loves but does not feel passion for. While vacationing in the French Alps, where he spent his childhood, he encounters a childhood friend—writer Aurora—who introduces him to 14-year-old Laura, who is spending her holidays there. Jerome is amused by the feelings that begin to manifest from Laura towards him, until he himself starts to experience a strange attraction to her sister, Claire. However, he shapes his passion in a way that allows him to keep it under control: for him, the temptation is to touch her knee.