1870. Napoleon III was defeated at Sedan. Little by little, the soldiers return home. As they approach their village, two of them see a woman in the distance, on the snow, waving. One comes forward but it was only a ploy to rob them: he is killed. His companion shoots the woman, injures her, but she runs away. A little later, Busard finds her and takes her to the isolated farm where he lives with Philippe, his brother. Harrier is a secret being whom the whole village calls the Mexican. From the Mexican War, he had returned with a woman, his passion. One day, Philippe killed her. Harrier, with a pistol shot then broke Philippe's knee, who is limping now. The latter takes a dim view of the arrival of a new woman on the farm. But Busard forces Giovanna to take care of him while remaining very distant. Yet he made up his mind to protect her, no matter what. And when the villagers chase after the one who killed one of their own, Harrier hides Giovanna. She doesn't understand Busard's attitude. She tries to seduce him but he pushes her away violently. Between the two brothers, the tension mounts. The pressure from the villagers is getting stronger. They seize Philippe. Giovanna runs away and the villagers catch up with her. Harrier appears, makes her mount her horse. He kills Philippe, before succumbing at the same time as Giovanna under the bullets of the villagers.