Paul Château-Têtard, a 45-year-old bachelor from the best of Parisian nobility, has – for the first time in his life – to take the Metro, and even buy a ticket. It is with extraordinary luck that the beautiful young Ava happens to be sitting at the counter: a spark ignites and wedding bells begin ringing in the distance.

It's peak season at Morzine-Avoriaz ski resort. French high mountain state police officer Constance Vivier and Swiss cop Andreas Meyer investigate the suspect death of a teenager, found freezing on a slope after an alcohol coma.

Gabrielle Deneige is an independent, ambitious TV weather girl torn between her love of a distinguished author several decades her senior, and the attentions of a headstrong, potentially unstable young suitor. An unspoken past between the two men heightens tensions, and though she's initially certain of her love for one them, the see-saw demands and whims of both men keep confusing - and darkening - matters. Before long she's encountering emotional and societal forces well beyond her control, inexorably leading to a shocking clash of violence and passion.