The 1950s: In Chateauroux, Rachel (Virginie Efira), a government clerk, meets Philippe (Québec's Niels Schneider), a brilliant young interpreter of bourgeois background. A brief and passionate relationship ensues and the result is a daughter, Chantal. Philippe refuses to marry outside his social class and Rachel raises her daughter alone. No matter, Chantal is the light of Rachel’s life! Her happiness and pride in raising her beloved daughter give her courage to fight for years to have Chantal legally adopt Philippe’s family name. That battle will ultimately upend her life and that of her daughter’s.

A modern heroine, in a tale of love, rejection and tragedy in director/ co-screenwriter Catherine Corsini’s adaptation of Christine Angot’s eponymous novel...