Gervaise

Paris, 1852. When her lover, Lantier, walks out on her, a lame young woman, Gervaise Macquart, is left to make a living for herself and her two young children. Her lot seems to improve when she falls in love with and marries Henri Coupeau. With the money she has saved, she plans to open her own laundry shop, but then disaster strikes. Henri falls from a roof he is repairing and is severely injured, unable to work. Gervaise finally manages to open her shop when a friend, Goujet, lends her the money she needs, and for a time all goes well. Then she discovers that instead of returning the money she has earned to Goujet, Henri has been spending it on drink. As her husband sinks deeper into alcoholism, Gervaise is shocked when her former lover Lantier makes an unexpected return. Far from showing enmity towards his rival, Henri strikes up a friendship with Lantier and insists that he stays in their home. To make matters worse, the man that Gervaise really loves, Goujet, has just been sent to prison...