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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.

Forced into service at The Paradise, Rose manages to escape before being tracked down by the police. After one of the girls is assaulted, Véra organizes a strike in protest, causing a strain on the brothel's finances. In response, Hortense decides to sell Rose's chastity to the highest bidder.

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.

Pierre Gaillac asks his sister for a list of his clients at "Le Paradis", certain to find the members of the Jockey Club, which he wants to head. Despite the letters she sends to her fiancé, Rose lives a nightmare in the brothel. But she continues to search for her origins by asking the residents about her mother. Vera, for her part, fights to have Hortense's responsibility for the Baron's death.

Pierre Gaillac continues to use "Le Paradis" for his own purposes: he invites many wealthy guests. Hortense is furious at her brother's attitude and tries to force the girls to stay locked in their rooms. Rose, still searching for the truth about the death of her mother, who she knows was close to Hortense, takes the advice of a client. She talks to Hortense and reveals her 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.

Hortense wants to end Angèle's pregnancy. The other girls unite to allow her to keep her baby. For her part, Rose has seduced Pierre Gaillac and tries to obtain her freedom. She also believes she knows that her mother died in Paradise. As for Pierre's wife, she comes to the brothel with a wish: to sleep with her husband's mistress. But she thinks it is Vera.

Pierre Gaillac will stop at nothing to save his business, going so far as to accept the most outrageous demands of his clients. Hortense, with the help of Vera, then Rose, opposes him fiercely. In the meantime, Rose has discovered the truth about her mother, as well as her own past.