In 1806, in the French colony of Île Bourbon, a violent storm devastates Charles Bellevue's plantation and kills nine of his slaves. Faced with the threat of bankruptcy, Charles and his wife Constance consider their options, from selling slaves to selling the estate itself, including their house in town. Charles receives an offer from his neighbor Dennemont but declines it. Meanwhile, the young slave Isaac learns from his mother, Célestine, that he is in fact Charles Bellevue's illegitimate son. Constance, Charles's wife, aware of her husband's past infidelity, demands that he sell Célestine and Isaac, but instead, Charles appoints Isaac "overseer" of his plantation in place of Germain, who died from injuries sustained in the storm. Tristan, a slave on the Bellevue estate, decides to escape and becomes a runaway slave.

In the midst of a drought, Isaac has other slaves dig a well. Overwhelmed by his role as overseer, he sees in this quest for life-saving water a possible redemption that would allow him to feel better. Meanwhile, Charles tries to resist the pressures of his neighbor, Monsieur Dennemont, but the latter's treachery knows no bounds...