Trevor Stratton discovers a box full of artifacts from World War I as he settles into his new office in Paris. The pictures, letters, and objects in the box relate to the life of Louise Brunet, a feisty, charming Frenchwoman who lived through both World Wars. As Trevor examines the relics from the box, he imagines the story of Louise's life: her love for a cousin who died in the war, her marriage to a man who worked for her father, and her attraction to a neighbor in her building at 13 rue Thérèse. But the more time Trevor spends with the objects, the truer his imaginings become, and the more he notices another alluring Frenchwoman: Josianne, his clerk, who planted the box in his office, and with whom he finds himself falling in love.