Just before dawn one late-summer morning, Bruno is pulled from sleep by the wail of the town siren atop the Mairie, summoning the volunteer foremen of St Denis. A large barn and the fields surrounding it are ablaze. When Bruno arrives at the scene, the smell of Petrol leaves no doubt - it was arson. Soon after, a wine mogul from California visits the town with plans to buy up half the valley to create an industrial-scale wine-producing operation.