A painter returns from Paris to his childhood home in rural France. The painter notices that the house's once-impressive vegetable garden has fallen into neglect, and he hires a local gardener to put it back into shape. The gardener appears to be a former schoolmate. The painter discovers bucolic side of life and its beauty. Over the next several months, the two different men become friends through long conversations. Through the eyes of each other, they experience the world in a new light. The gardener's occasional stomach cramps is identified as cancer and soon he passes away. The painter takes what his friend has given him and shares a part of it through an art exhibition.