Father Leterrier, what will happen to people who stray from the path of Holy Purity? "They will rot in the fires of Hell. Their flesh will melt, and all of the impurities in their blood will be filtered onto the floor like a carpet of evil dust." It is the summer of 1920 and Christian Aragon is about to graduate from school. The sixteen year-old covets the body of an older woman-married and a teacher at his school. This not only imperils his mortal soul, but threatens other consequences as well. Surrounded by vineyards and mountains and the relentless heat of the Provencal sun, there is passion, anger, fear, and blood in this tiny village at the foot of the Dentelles. But what prize awaits those who dare defy tradition, and what is the price to be paid for following one's heart?