Philibert, a robust lad and eldest son of an artichoke farmer, stands out from the other boys in the village. Idealistic and ingenuous, he foresees for himself a glorious future in artichokes and is saving his virginity for an as-yet-unknown woman chosen for him by God. Before he dies, his father tells him that he isn't his real parent. Philibert's real father was a gentleman murdered in the most cowardly way by a man from Burgundy who is recognisable by a rose-shaped strawberry
