France, 1760. Marianne is commissioned to paint the wedding portrait of Heloise, a young woman who has just left the convent. Because she is a reluctant bride-to-be, Marianne arrives under the guise of companionship, observing Heloise by day and secretly painting her by firelight at night. As the two women orbit one another, intimacy and attraction grow as they share Heloise's first moments of freedom. Heloise's portrait soon becomes a collaborative act of and testament to their love.