Heron of Foix leaves his university in Paris to seek adventure. Traveling across France during the chaos of the Hundred Years War, he sees the French fighting the English and the peasants in revolt against the landowners. He meets Claudia, a wealthy lord's daughter whose home has been overrun by peasants, and he takes her to her uncle, Robert the Elder, a nobleman who has joined the peasants' cause. Claudia wants revenge, but Heron, remembering the ravages of war and death, urges peace. Eventually, they find shelter in a monastery that is about to be attacked by soldiers. The monks flee as the soldiers approach, but Heron and Claudia perform a wedding ceremony for themselves and await death.