Parisians hear bombs falling on Paris and the Péricand family begins making plans to evacuate the city.

The Michauds arrive at Corbin's car to find Arlette has taken their seats, leaving them to walk out of Paris.

Gabriel Corte and his mistress Florence flee Paris by car, sleeping overnight because Gabriel rejects all available hotel rooms.

The Michauds escape Paris on foot alongside streams of refugees, witnessing explosions and deaths along the road.

Jean-Marie Michaud is wounded in battle and left behind to recover in the village of Bussy.

Philippe Péricand is ambushed by the orphan boys he is escorting, pushed from a window, and drowned in a lake.

Charles Langelet tricks a young couple sleeping in the forest and steals their petrol to continue his journey.

Hubert Péricand flees the fighting in despair after realizing he has no weapon and takes shelter in a hotel in Moulins.

The Michauds return to their Paris apartment and learn that France has surrendered to Germany.

Corbin sends the Michauds a letter dismissing them without pay; his business partner steps in to compensate them.

Charles Langelet is struck and killed by a car driven by Arlette Corail as he walks to supper in Paris.

A German regiment occupies the village of Bussy and the Angellier women rush to hide their valuables.

Lieutenant Bruno von Falk is billeted in the Angellier house and requests access to the piano and library.

Germans find Benoît Sabarie's hidden shotgun and he immediately shoots officer Kurt Bonnet and his dog before escaping.

Lucile obtains a travel pass from Bruno and secretly drives Benoît to Paris as the German regiment departs for Russia.

Suite Française opens in Paris under German bombardment as diverse residents scramble to flee the city, each shaped by their class and selfishness. The refugee road exposes society at its worst: Philippe Péricand is killed by the very orphan boys he was escorting, while the vain Charles Langelet meets his end under Arlette's car on his return to Paris. The Michauds survive the flight only to face financial ruin at the hands of their employer Corbin, whose business partner ultimately saves them. In the village of Bussy, the second novel follows Lucile Angellier as she forms a dangerous friendship with the German officer billeted in her home. The crisis reaches its peak when Benoît Sabarie kills a German soldier and Lucile must use her closeness to the enemy to secure his escape before the regiment departs for Russia.

The headline events of flight, occupation, and resistance.

Florence takes a call from the presidential office warning Gabriel to leave Paris and quietly organizes the household's packing.

Philippe Péricand visits the orphanage and delivers a speech inviting the boys to faith, despite privately despising them.

The Péricand family loads their van with heirlooms and silverware, delaying departure to wait for their monogrammed linen to return from the laundry.

Charles Langelet wraps his precious porcelain collection alone in his apartment after all his servants have already fled the city.

The Michauds are picked up by a military truck and survive a German air attack at a railway station.

Jean-Marie kisses Madeleine during his convalescence in Bussy and she admits she may no longer want to become a nun.

The Péricand family forgets the elderly Monsieur Péricand during a village fire; he is rescued and placed in a nursing home by nuns.

The elderly Monsieur Péricand makes his will in the nursing home, leaving his entire fortune to the orphanage rather than the family.

Hubert Péricand meets Arlette Corail in a hotel after abandoning the army; she flirts with him and finds him a bed.

Gabriel and Florence arrive at the Grand Hotel, where celebrities dine comfortably while desperate refugees beg for rooms outside.

Madeleine marries the returning Benoît Sabarie, and Jean-Marie Michaud departs Bussy to reunite with his parents in Paris.

German officer Kurt Bonnet is billeted at the Sabarie farm and immediately makes his attraction to Madeleine obvious.

Madame Angellier discovers Benoît is hiding in the house and insists he be moved into her own rooms for safekeeping.

Germans hold a lavish anniversary party at the castle while a villager secretly listening to the radio learns the regiment is going to Russia.

The villagers of Bussy watch the German regiment leave town until only a small cloud of dust remains on the road.

While the main plot charges forward, these events reveal the texture of life during the exodus from Paris and the early weeks of the German occupation. Ordinary moments—packing heirlooms, delivering religious speeches, surviving air raids—expose how French society functioned under extreme pressure and self-interest. Characters like Hubert and the Michauds encounter unexpected dangers and small kindnesses as they navigate the chaos on the road. Back in Bussy, the arrival of German soldiers quietly disrupts domestic life for the Sabaries and the Angelliers in ways both visible and hidden. As the occupation deepens, alliances shift, secrets multiply, and the cost of collaboration becomes harder to ignore. The pool closes as the regiment prepares to leave, leaving the village to reckon with what the occupation has cost them.

Behind-the-scenes moments of flight, survival, and occupation.

Florence's view of Gabriel shifts entirely on the refugee road; she suddenly sees him as a weak and despicable creature.

Hubert Péricand vows to fight for France after hearing the Germans have taken Paris and secretly slips away from his family.

Arlette Corail abandons Corbin in the south of France and steals his car, determined to survive on her own terms.

The Péricand family learns Philippe was killed by the orphan boys he was leading; Madame Péricand insists an overturned truck is to blame.

Hubert returns to his family in Nîmes completely unharmed, deflating his mother's conviction that he died as a war hero.

The Michauds receive Corbin's dismissal letter denying them any wages and despair about surviving without income.

Lucile listens from another room as Bruno plays piano for the first time and is overcome with unexpected sadness.

Lucile and Bruno speak in the garden and discover they both grew up near forests, forging an unexpected personal bond.

Benoît confronts Lucile about Bonnet's pursuit of Madeleine and asks her to intervene with Bruno, who flatly refuses to help.

Bruno removes his wedding ring, plays piano for Lucile, and tells her he will come back to find her after the war.

Lucile accompanies Bruno to recover the Perrins' stolen valuables and feels unexpectedly stirred by the sound of his voice speaking German.

The Viscountess de Montmort catches Benoît stealing vegetables and persuades her husband to report him to the Germans.

Lucile and Bruno share an intimate, soul-baring conversation alone in his bedroom in what feels like an emotional surrender before the body.

The Germans announce that anyone concealing Benoît Sabarie will face immediate execution by firing squad.

Bruno attempts to take Lucile in his arms during an evening walk; she rejects him, suddenly feeling their romance has become wrong.

This pool tracks the pivotal shifts in character and circumstance that drive both novels forward. In Storm in June, characters reveal their true natures under pressure—Florence's illusions about Gabriel collapse, Hubert's war heroism crumbles, and Madame Péricand faces the consequences of her own priorities. In Bussy, Lucile's growing feelings for Bruno unfold step by step, from their first garden conversation to the moment he removes his wedding ring. The Montmorts' denunciation of Benoît triggers a chain of events that forces Lucile to choose between personal romance and loyalty to France. Each event marks a moment where someone makes an irreversible choice or is confronted with an unwelcome truth about themselves or the world. Together they form the moral and emotional spine of both novels.