In the village of Saint-Honoré, Léonie Bérard is killed with a shot from a carbine—a bitter old woman whom practically all the locals disliked. She gathered gossip, read other people’s letters, and took genuine pleasure in pitting her neighbors against one another, so there were more than enough people eager to get rid of her.
However, the accusation of murder falls on the schoolteacher Gasten. He is convinced of his innocence, but proving it turns out to be anything but simple: in a village where almost everyone had reasons to hate the woman who has died, there are far too many possible suspects.
Hoping to achieve justice and find the real murderer, Gasten turns to Commissar Maigret for help.