Madame and Monsieur Pericand

The Pericands are a very wealthy family, primarily due to the elderly Pericand's family connections with the Maltete family fortunes. The Pericands have one daughter and four sons, as well as an elderly father-in-law and a number of servants. Their son, Philippe, their pride and joy, is a Catholic priest. The younger son, Hubert, is a soft, sensitive teenager who cries easily and is drawn by patriotic fervor to wanting to join the French army, ashamed that the French have capitulated to the Germans. When they are forced to leave Paris for safety, the family and their servants and belongings ride out in cars, making their way through crowds of less fortunate people who cannot get petrol or trains.

Madame Pericand is organized, busy and highly efficient in her running of the family's affairs, including the manners and education of the children. Her primary goal...