L'expiation de Saveli

The narrative follows life on a rural estate dominated by a cold, authoritarian landowner whose remorseless rule reduces villagers to fear and destitution. His wife becomes a broken, silent figure after marriage and loses most of her children; one daughter survives thanks to a peasant wet-nurse. The lord exploits local women, hoards resources, and enforces humiliating controls that drain the commune. A drought and failed harvest deepen the community's misery, leading to tensions and a criminal investigation in which the villagers adhere to a stubborn silence, while one man speaks out about injustice and the outsiders who judge them.