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Paris, 1871. Vera, the star of the luxury brothel "Le Paradis", is preparing to celebrate her departure. She is finally leaving the establishment to become the official mistress of a wealthy man. But her madam, Hortense Gaillac, is madly in love with the young woman. She will do anything, absolutely anything, to keep her by her side. Moreover, the house owes money to a thug named Lupin.

Rose has been tricked: Hortense and Marguerite force her into the debt she owes to the "Paradis". Revolted, she runs away but the police catch her and threaten her with the worst if she doesn't return to the brothel! Hortense, for her part, doesn't hesitate to use all the means at her disposal to make Vera return to "Le Paradis". The Baron's death makes things easier for her.

Pierre Gaillac, the brother Hortense hates so much and who has just returned to France, takes care of the strike organised by the girls of "Le Paradis". He manages to get them back to work and to tame Rose, who has some difficulty adapting to her new life. But calm is only temporarily restored, as Pierre and Hortense know.

Hortense must defend against the machinations of Pierre, who wants to leverage the Paradise for his own gains. A police investigation is launched in response to Véra's claims and two girls are arrested. One day, Rose finds a photo of her mother in the house archives, and it is suggested that her mother and Hortense once shared a close personal relationship.

Pierre continues to use The Paradise to serve his own purposes, inviting many wealthy clients on his own accord. Hortense is furious and attempts to spite him by keeping the ladies locked in their rooms. Rose, always in search of information about her mother, presses Hortense, who reveals her mother's true identity.

Brise Caboche will do anything to obtain the freedom of his fiancée Angèle. He blackmails Hortense, who has no other recourse than to turn to her brother Pierre for money. But he is not prepared to do a favor for his sister, knowing full well of her feelings of hatred towards him. Rose approaches Vera and tells her the strategy for getting out of "Paradise": seduce Peter.