Stella arrives in Paris and a shopkeeper drags her into a dressing room to try on a black vintage Dior dress.

Celia dies after being hit by a car, leaving Stella money and a note that simply says 'Go to Paris.'

The shopkeeper offers Stella a deal: wear the dress for a day following specific instructions, then return it for a full refund.

Wearing the Dior dress at Les Deux Magots, Stella meets elderly art expert Jules Delatour over oysters and Chablis.

Jules accompanies Stella to the Musée du Jeu de Paume and introduces her to Manet's painting Olympia.

Jules reveals that Olympia's model, Victorine-Louise Meurent, was a painter herself whose works have all been lost.

Stella visits Shakespeare and Company bookstore and meets its famous owner, George Whitman.

After losing her hotel room, Stella accepts George's offer to stay at the bookstore as a Tumbleweed.

James Baldwin visits Shakespeare and Company and describes a passionate chef who was romantically involved with Celia.

George insists Stella speak with painter Richard Olney in the south of France to learn more about her father.

Jules takes Stella south to visit Richard Olney, who names Django as Celia's lover and says Celia owned his painted portrait.

Stella and Lucie find Victorine's self-portrait at a flea market in Portes de Vanves, bearing the faint signature 'V. Meurent.'

Jules and Stella visit the restaurant where Django works, and he tearfully learns he has a daughter.

Django begins visiting Shakespeare and Company daily, cooking for everyone and making persistent efforts to bond with Stella.

Chez Django opens to a successful first night, and Jean-Marie presents Stella with the Dior dress now bearing her own name on the label.

The Paris Novel follows Stella St. Vincent, a timid New York copy editor who travels to Paris after her estranged mother dies and leaves her money and a cryptic note. A chance encounter with a vintage Dior dress sets off a chain of events that introduces her to art expert Jules Delatour and the world of French art and cuisine. Inspired by Manet's Olympia, Stella commits to finding the lost paintings of model-turned-painter Victorine-Louise Meurent, a quest that draws her into the community at Shakespeare and Company bookstore. With Jules's help and the encouragement of the bookstore's owner George Whitman, she tracks down her biological father Django, a renowned chef who never knew she existed. Together, Stella and Django open a restaurant, and at the close of opening night she fully claims her new identity — symbolized by the iconic Dior dress finally bearing her own name.

Stella's journey from cautious New Yorker to Parisian restaurant owner.

As a teenager, Celia leaves her Brooklyn home and reinvents herself as a society figure under a new name.

After Stella stops seeing Mortimer, Celia enrolls her in art appreciation classes at MoMA, which becomes Stella's sanctuary.

Stella takes a copy-editing job at Vanguard Press and builds a rigidly scheduled, solitary life in New York City.

Stella's boss refuses to let her keep working and forces her to take six weeks of vacation, prompting her to travel to Paris.

In Paris, Stella constructs rigid daily itineraries, eats discount food, and resists spending any of her mother's money.

The shopkeeper reveals that the Dior dress's label reads 'Séverine,' the name of its previous owner.

Allen Ginsberg gives a reading at Shakespeare and Company, and the group gathers afterward to talk.

George Whitman reveals he knew Celia and insists that Stella try to find her biological father.

At a library, Stella finds a biography containing a dismissive, damaging account of Victorine written by Toulouse-Lautrec.

Stella and Lucie spend weeks visiting churches across the third arrondissement searching for Victorine's baptismal record.

Stella discovers Victorine's death certificate at the Hotel de Soubise, which lists her last address in the suburb of Colombes.

Jules gives Stella a suitcase filled with his late wife's old clothing to wear during their travels.

Stella recognizes the scent of apricots and vanilla on the clothing in the suitcase and realizes Séverine was Jules's late wife.

Stella spontaneously cuts her hair short in Paris, feeling apprehensive but transformed into a new version of herself.

Jean-Marie visits the dress shop, discovers Eugenie has been selling his mother's clothes, and reconciles with his father.

This pool traces the supporting events and encounters that build the texture of Stella's Paris adventure, beginning with her mother Celia's own origin story as a self-reinvented society figure. It follows Stella from her structured life as a New York copy editor through her tentative first weeks in Paris, where she resists pleasure before slowly opening up. Key encounters at Shakespeare and Company — including Allen Ginsberg's reading and George's revelation that he knew Celia — nudge her toward uncovering her father's identity. Stella's research into Victorine's life deepens as she scours libraries and churches, ultimately tracing Victorine's death certificate to a suburb of Paris. The pool closes with two outward signs of transformation: Stella's dramatic haircut and Jules's son Jean-Marie finally breaking free from his manipulative fiancée.

The people, places, and discoveries that built the world of Stella's transformation.

Mortimer repeatedly assaults Stella during weekly art lessons at his studio while Celia continues to send her there.

Celia asks Stella if Mortimer ever does 'anything funny,' and the abuse ends, but the two never discuss it again.

Celia's lawyer reveals a final note left for Stella that contains only two words: 'Go to Paris.'

Jules mentions his late wife was one of Yves Saint Laurent's first customers, signaling the deep connections he holds to Paris's art world.

Jules tells Stella that Victorine submitted her own paintings to the Paris Salon, with one accepted in 1876 despite women being barred from training.

Stella tries ortolans for the first time at Jules's dinner and finds the experience astonishing, deepening her love for food.

Stella panics in a taxi with Jules after dinner, then realizes she has allowed her past trauma to overwhelm her judgment.

John Ashbery reads poetry at Shakespeare and Company, and Daniel reads his autobiography aloud, making Stella feel she has found a family.

Stella and Lucie find Victorine's birth record at the church of Sainte-Elisabeth de Hongrie, learning her parents' names and neighborhood.

Stella and Lucie travel to Colombes and meet Madame Bonnet at Victorine's former house, who tells them to return in two weeks.

Jules explains that Jean-Marie's fiancée Eugenie has been secretly selling Séverine's clothes, which is how the Dior dress reached the shop.

Madame Bonnet reveals that everything in Victorine's house was burned in a bonfire, but a neighbor rescued paintings and took them to a flea market.

After cooking together for the first time at Le Sauvage, Django declares that he and Stella should open a restaurant together.

Jules reports having heart palpitations and asks Stella to move into his home, Le Sauvage, so he is no longer living alone.

Eugenie confronts Stella at Le Sauvage, accusing her of exploiting Jules, but Jean-Marie drags Eugenie out of the house.

This pool captures the pivotal moments of self-realization and discovery that drive Stella's emotional arc from beginning to end. It begins with the childhood trauma at the heart of her cautious worldview — Mortimer's assaults and her mother's failure to truly address them — and traces how those wounds surface throughout Stella's Paris journey. Key revelations accumulate steadily: astonishing new flavors awaken her latent passion for food, a bookstore community makes her feel like family for the first time, and the church records of a long-dead painter lead her closer to understanding herself. The truth about the Dior dress's provenance and the circumstances of her father's identity crystallize in the south of France, while the trail of a bonfire sends her racing to a flea market. The pool closes as Stella's new life is tested by Eugenie's accusation and Jules's health scare, and Stella holds her ground — fully inhabiting the courageous identity she has built.