Those in the scene 1789. Manon, a young Vendee peasant girl, is treated cruelly by her family's tyrannical master. Convinced that society will never change, she flees to Paris, where she falls for Benjamin, a third state deputy. As the people revolt against the established order, she no longer knows what to think...

The noise and the fury 1793. Manon, now a full-fledged citizen, takes an active part in political events. She frequents the tenors of the Revolution and deeply admires Robespierre. But famine, still ever-present, continues to fan the flames of violence. When the guillotine runs amok and the Terror begins, Manon rejects her idol...