In the fall of 1793, essayist and naturalist George Forster travels from Paris to Switzerland where he will meet his wife, Therese, to discuss divorce. Therese has travelled with her two children and new lover, Ferdinand Huber. Although exhausted from the physical and psychological battles now raging in revolutionary France, George tries to convince Therese to return to Paris with him.

Therese, meanwhile, has been living in Switzerland in exile because of George’s political activities. Although she still loves her husband, she knows he would sacrifice his private life for the cause of the revolution.