A collection of short stories by Maupassant, led by the title tale set during the Prussian occupation of France after 1870. In it, a bored and arrogant young officer and his companions are billeted in a French château, and a clash arises between the occupiers and a woman they treat with contempt. Other stories in the volume look at provincial life, small cruelties and the moral compromises of ordinary people. Written in a spare, observant style, they show Maupassant's gift for exposing pride and hypocrisy in a few pages, and they give a clear picture of how war touched everyday lives.