Late 17th Century: Anne de Grandcamp and Lucie de Fontenelle, two little girls from Normandy, arrive at the Saint-Cyr school founded by Madame de Maintenon for educating the daughters of impoverished nobles ruined in wars and making them into free women. Madame de Maintenon is the secret wife of Louis XIV, and empowered by his support, she offers "her" two hundred fifty girls a playful and avant-garde education. Anne and Lucie, two inseparable friends, allow themselves to be carried away by the promise of a bright future. But Maintenon has arrived at the pinnacle of power through scheming and debasing herself and she now fears the fires of hell. She is counting on her model school to atone for her past sins.
Isabelle Huppert
as Madame de Maintenon
Jean-Pierre Kalfon
as Louis XIV
Jean-François Balmer
as Racine
Nina Meurisse
as Lucie de Fontenelle
Morgane Moré
as Anne de Grandcamp
Bernard Waver
as l'abbé Gobelin
Jeanne Le Bigot
as Lucie de Fontenelle jeune
Mathilde Lechasles
as Anne de Grandcamp jeune
Pierre Brault
as Lazariste
