Along the path that daily leads him, together with his friend Schmidt, to the university cafeteria, the narrator, a law student in Paris, often meets the beautiful Sylvie, from whom he is attracted. After his initial shyness, he manages to obtain from her the promise of a next meeting. But, from the next day, Sylvie disappears. Convinced that the young woman is living nearby, the narrator sets off to search the maze of alleys around the local market area. He became a regular customer of a bakery. He establishes a familiar relationship with the saleswoman Jacqueline, and decides to seduce her, justifying the choice with the will to punish the cheekiness of the young woman.
