Frédérique Letheil, who heads the research department of the Emmerson oil group, has sacrificed her private and sentimental life to her experiments. The management, which sees her work as a financial drain, has her unjustly dismissed by the group's general manager, Maxime Vergnaud. When the company realizes its mistake and the economic and ecological potential of Frédérique's research, it asks Maxime to bring her back at all costs.