Jean Mailland

Hellé is a young deaf-mute living among the mountains. She’s ignored by everyone except, now and then, the local woodsmen, who use her for their pleasure. She has no education, no knowledge of right or wrong. One summer, a young man comes to spend the holidays in her village.

A farm in Tunisia at the time of the French protectorate. The children Hamida, a shepherd boy, and Renaud, grandson of a French farm owner, are friends. One day, the parentless Hamida falls into a river while searching for a lost sheep. Renaud, who accidentally caused the loss of the sheep, rescues him, but Hamida falls dangerously ill with pneumonia. Can Renaud help his friend?